The Reluctant Hero
by I Brake for Ewoks
Summary: Harry Potter is 3 years older than canon. He is entering his 7th year at the return of the Triwizard Tournament. Introverted Harry. Intellectually inclined. Eventual Harry/Fleur. Rated M for language, violence, and adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

Quick Authors Note: JK Rowling owns all the things, and I do not.

Notes to start

1.) Harry is 3 older than in the books. He is entering his 7th year, which will be the Triwizard Tournament.

2.) Everyone else is generally the same age, except for a few notable exceptions.

3.) Ron and Hermione do not play major roles. Harry only really knows the Weasleys because they are a pureblood family, and because Harry still saves Ginny.

4.) I have no idea if I will actually ever finish this FF, but nonetheless I have about 3 chapters already written, and as I continue to edit them I will slow post them. I like to stay ahead in FFictions, and as such I will attempt to stay a few chapters ahead.

5.) Sirius was exonerated from the death of Lily and James Potter. Everyone knows Peter did it. Harry lives with Remus and Sirius.

So yeah. Voldemort is coming for you Harry, may the force be with you.

Harry James Potter might have feared for his life when he climbed into the small red Mini Cooper, which was actually quite spacious with some magical enhancements. Even with Remus getting his license through a confundus charm, he knew that the safety charms and wards would protect them if Remus really got them into trouble. He looked down at Hedwig in her cage next to him on the seat cushion and stretched out his legs, never quite reaching Sirius seat in front of him.

Harry was tall and skinny for his age, with messy jet-black hair, and bright green eyes. His features had become sharper over the past two years, and his muscles more defined from Quidditch, but Harry wasn't vain. He attributed the majority of looks he got from other women due to his status, and the scar on his forehead.

"Bloody hell Moony!" Sirius yelled as a multitude car horns sounded all around them. His black eyes were alight with fear as his friend narrowly dodged another vehicle.

"I'm sorry!" Remus said, in a high-pitched voice that mirrored a small child, as he swerved through the London traffic.

"Jesus! You know, you're probably a better driver during the full moon. You're scaring the shit out of me," Sirius complained after the fourth near miss in the heavy traffic.

"Oh pull it together, will you." sniped Remus, as he executed another hairpin turn on their way to King's Cross Station. Sirius held on for dear life and his long hair swayed with the rest of the momentum around the corner.

Harry snorted in the backseat with his hand firmly gripping the handrail on the roof of the interior of the car. His godfather and uncle (for all intensive purposes) were like a married couple and Harry took great joy in pointing out that the majority of muggles saw them in public as a queer couple that was constantly bickering as if they had been together for years.

Harry Potter though, considered himself incredibly lucky to have two amazing guardians. Both of whom had spent a large portion of their lives dedicated to being parental figures to Harry after his parents had been killed that night in July over sixteen years ago.

The tiny red car zoomed down the street and whipped into the public parking lot adjacent to the Station. Harry and Sirius let out audible sighs of relief at their survival and they both unsteadily climbed out of the Mini Cooper.

Sirius was just a bit taller than Harry and with his long dark hair, semi- kept beard, black eyes, mischievous smile, and his distinct overall look that came with the Black line. He had continually "walked the walk" (as Sirius would say) since his days at Hogwarts. Harry joked that it was more "talked to talk" these days, but there was no denying that he had always attracted that certain type of women.

Remus was the same height as Sirius and had a striking appearance as well. Although he sometimes had a peckish look around the full moon he still struck an intriguing look with his messy brown hair, grey eyes, and sharp bone structure that hinted at his animalistic side. Remus, like Sirius had also perpetuated his lifestyle in Hogwarts to his lifestyle in the real world and had continued to pass up opportunities at relationships because of his fear of his lycanthropy.

This sparked many disagreements in their home; where on one side Sirius was constantly trying to set him up, and Harry was constantly trying to make sure Remus did whatever he wanted, whether that was alone, or with someone else.

Overall Harry couldn't ask for two more opposite individuals, but it helped give Harry different perspectives that he craved while constantly questioning his own thoughts on how he lived his life.

Hedwig gave an indignant hoot as Harry took her out of the backseat which clearly signified her understanding of the life and death situation that was Moony's driving.

Harry sighed as he pulled his school trunk out of the back of the car, and checked to make sure his wand was still tucked in his waistband of his black jeans. Summers went much too quickly for his liking and Harry was not looking forward to the secluded and scheduled life that awaited him at Hogwarts. Although he had a love for knowledge and enjoyed the classes he took, he felt that his time was better spent with his own individual studies.

Both Remus and Sirius were both surprised and immensely proud when Harry had received all O's on his O.W.L.'s at the end of his 5th year. Sirius had gone so far as to say that James and Lily would have been proud, which was, to Harry, the best compliment he could have ever received. Add that into being a prefect, and the Gryffindor quidditch captain; Sirius had dubbed him the "Gryffindor Golden Boy" which annoyed Harry to no end.

Remus, who was filling in as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position also pocketed his reduced trunk. He decided that he wanted to ride the Hogwarts Express, although Harry knew that it was because he wanted to keep him company. Harry had ridden the Hogwarts Express by himself for the previous six years, and this gave Remus the opportunity to end that tradition.

As they walked through the damp parking lot toward the station Sirius was joking and pointing out any good looking women that were walking to their vehicles.

"I need to broaden my horizon" He said reverently, " I've been so focused on the magical women of this world, that I've been ignoring the majority of the female population!"

"Weren't you with a muggle girl at the summer solstice party two summers ago?" Harry inquired.

"Hmm. I'm not really sure, coulda' been a squib, I don't really remember that night all that well." he said with frown.

"She ditched you when you go so drunk off firewiskey you were dancing on the tabletop professing your never-ending love for Minerva McGonagall" Remus pointed out.

Harry knew that Sirius was just filling the air. Sirius was going to miss having Remus and him around to talk to at Potter Manor. Even though it had been 17 years since Voldemort had killed his parents, Sirius was still not the same person as he was before, according to Remus. Harry could remember days or weeks at a time when either Remus or Sirius would be withdrawn and spend long hours in their respective studies. Although these bouts of depression had become less frequent over the years, the absence of Lily and James Potter still hung over the tight-nit family of misfits.

Harry didn't grow up with any close friends. Although he knew children in the neighborhood, and in other magical families, he was particularly close to no one. He was an outcast on both sides due to him being "different" in the muggle world, and being the "Boy Who Lived" in the magical world.

Along with being an only child Harry had spent the majority of his life with just the thoughts that ran through his head. This suited Harry, yet also drove him to be more of an outcast. When he first arrived at Hogwarts the hat took nearly ten minutes before deciding on Gryffindor. He was brave like his parents before him, immensely loyal to his small family, had an infinite drive for knowledge, and deeply ambitious to realize his own personal potential. Although he was much too modest to admit that to ever admit that to himself, that Sorting Hat went through each painstaking detail of his personality and personal experiences to deem him Gryffindor above all.

Harry was happy with being in Gryffindor, but had always felt unfulfilled around his other house members and sometimes felt that he would fit in better with a different house, but knew that he would simply feel unfulfilled there as well.

Some days he felt he should have been in Ravenclaw, or even Slytherin, while in other moments he admired the warmth of the Hufflepuffs. Nonetheless, he was of Gryffindor blood, and it certainly made Sirius proud.

He was happy that he had Sirius and Remus to write to, and felt closer to them during the semester than any of his classmates. Remus had been one of his tutors for his entire so thus he was excited for him to be his professor; knowing all too well that he would be a more than sufficient teacher for the subject compared to nearly all the previous dunderheads that had held the post in Harry's previous years.

Yet to a large extent Harry felt that he was stealing Remus away from Sirius, even though it was an immensely self centered and selfish thought. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had come to Potter Manor to personally offer the job to Remus, and he had accepted on the spot. Remus had been having so much trouble finding work since the latest anti-Werewolf legislation headed by one Dolores Jane Um-bitch, which had closed even more opportunities to the werewolf population. Although both Albus and Harry fought hard against the repressive and alienating bill, it had passed and enacted by the Wizegemot and Fudge just nine months ago.

Working at Hogwarts was a great opportunity for Remus, who would be able to hide his furry little problem through the Shrieking Shack and the Forbidden Forest, but Dumbledore, also promised a monthly supply of the Wolfsbane potion courtesy of Severus Snape. Overall it provided Remus with something to do, and something to build on, instead of spending his days managing the Potter estate.

Although Sirius had gritted his teeth at the involvement of "Snivellus" in regards to the wolfsbane potion, he also knew it was a great opportunity for Remus. To a large extent, Sirius had been able to repress his feelings about being alone at Potter Manor, and Remus being dependent on Severus.

He was able to be excited for Remus, and his new opportunity. Yet, today his true feelings of being alone were etched clearly across his face as the cross through the false brick barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Sirius had become more and more quite as they approached they had moved through the station, and as the small family reached the Hogwarts Express they had all become silent.

"Hey," Harry said speaking quietly so just that Remus or Sirius could hear, "don't worry Sirius, we'll see you in three and a half weeks during Moony's next furry little problem"

Remus gave Harry a sharp glare at speaking about his lycanthropy in public but Sirius had a conspiratorial grin and some light had returned to his eyes at the thought of being reunited again soon.

"Moony and Padfoot ride at Hogwarts again!" he said loudly "joined this time by Fang! Boy wonder"

"Fang?" Harry said with a look of disgusted look on his face "That's my marauder nickname now?

"Its great!" Sirius exclaimed

"Its awful and intellectually deprived, like yourself" Harry retorted

Remus chuckled while Sirius looked on in mock despair "You see this Moony? Giving me shit right before he goes. Whatta way to leave his beloved Godfather… he's not even get laid anymore, shame to the Padfoot and Prongs heritage!" Always getting in the last verbal jab.

The steam horn sounded and Harry turned to say goodbye. Sirius, all joking aside, gave him a tight hug and said "Love you kid, and stay safe, I don't want to get a letter about you being in the hospital wing this year, alright? And give some more thought to join that Triwizard Tournament, alright?"

"Sirius," Harry said seriously, returning the hug, "I'll see you in three weeks, love you too" He turned and hopped onto the nearest carriage with his trunk and Hedwig, and then helped Remus up afterwards. He was still recovering from his last transformation just two days ago

Remus sent him an appreciative nod and they headed down the carriage to the first unoccupied compartment. Remus shared Harry's preference for solitude, and it meant that they enjoyed spending hours in each other's company while studying and reading due to their mutual admiration for a quiet atmosphere (especially with Sirius around).

Even though they spent the majority of their time together reading or in silence, they were also known to share in hours of lively debate in all things magical from politics to finer aspects of transfiguration theory. Remus had been a crucial asset to Harry's thirst for knowledge and had really pushed Harry to succeed, and to find a passion for education.

"You're going to do fantastic this year Remus," Harry said, giving the soon-to-be professor a hard look. He knew that Remus was prone to worrying about everything under the sun, and had been reminding Remus since he accepted the position of how well he had taught him over the years, and how he had already managed his furry little problem at Hogwarts before.

It was an unspoken rule in their household to not speak about the apparent curse on the position. Sirius said it was shit, and Harry had pointed out that many of previous professors had just been plain incompetent and/or too stupid to make it through the year.

Yet no amount of joking or words of encouragement could not quell the background fear Remus felt for of the very real truth that Tom Riddle had cursed D.A.D.A. position all those years ago. Remus realized it was simply just another thing to add to his list of issues to worry about, and he knew that he should just take it one day at a time and think of it as a one year contract. Remus appreciated Harry's attempt to quell his constant worrying, but it was an inevitable part of his personality.

Harry pulled out one of his books from his personal read list, _A Duelers Guide to Survival: Advanced Techniques of Yesteryear,_ while Remus curled up with his cloak intent on catching a nice nap before the excitement that inevitably was the first meal of the Hogwarts year.

After a couple of hours in silence Remus stirred from his nap, and was resting his waking face on his drawn up knees.

"So… about your curriculum for this semester-"

"Don't even start Harry", Remus said looking up from his cloak with a smirk, "I didn't tell you the first twenty times you've asked, I'm not going to tell you now. Although I will tell you that I've got some lessons that even you will find interesting, so I expect you to show up to class"

"You're not even going to give your own nephew a simple 18 hour head start?" Harry asked innocently with a fake pout.

"That might have worked when you were ten, but now you just look like a woose… Hey, weren't you supposed to go to the prefects meeting and do rounds and such?"

"Oops" Harry said with fake concern.

"Hmm" Remus frowned surveying the tall and skinny 17 year old, seemingly reassessing his opinion of the messy black haired, green-eyed youth. "You're more like James than I thought, Lily would have never skipped a prefects meeting, especially not the first one of the year"

"I don't know why Professor Dumbledore made me one, I really don't care what students do at this school. I would always protect a student but the main goal of those prefect meetings is to talk about rules and busting students. It's utterly pointless in the grand scheme of things." He said animatedly for the umpteenth time since he became a Gryffindor prefect.

"I wouldn't want to face the wrath of Diggory for skipping those meetings." Remus mused.

"Thanks for attempting to be my conscious, but I honestly don't care" Harry said taking his circle glasses off and rubbing his face and scar, and running his fingers through his hair.

"Hmph," Remus said, "just like James." But it wasn't 'just like James'. It was much more than that. Certainly there were similarities at the height of Voldemorts reign where the Marauders would focus on the outside world, but the way in which Harry focused on Voldemort highlighted the lack of a childhood he had.

Between his parents being killed by Voldemort, and then the diary, and Quirrell, there was no question that Voldemort was still alive. Yet, this had a profound effect on Harry, who seemed to understand the gravity of this fact from a young age. Although it was rarely talked about, both Remus and Sirius could see the lack of a childhood Harry allowed himself to have ever since the moment he found out who had killed his parents.

Harry stuck his tongue out at him just as their compartment door slid open.

"Still as juvenile as ever." Said the pretty, tall brown hair brown-eyed Ravenclaw prefect.

"What do you want Sarah?" Harry said, all semblance of mirth gone from his face, instead replaced by hard indifference.

Remus looked on in interest, it had been about three months since the two had broken up, much to Sirius's pleasure. Although Remus had nothing against the 6th year Ravenclaw even he could see that they were not right for each other. Yet Remus still felt bad for both of them, Harry had become even more closed off towards others his age.

While Sarah….

"This is my new boyfriend, " She exclaimed with a look of determination pulling the large 7th year Slytherin from the hallway and into the small compartment doorway. Harry couldn't remember his first name, but knew that the Slytherin's last name was Montague, and that he was a chaser for the Slytherin Quidditch team. Harry suspected that Sarah would pull something to this extent at some point during the semester, but instead of the expected jealousy, he felt unusually empty.

Harry and Sarah had been together for his entire sixth year at Hogwarts, and although they had broken up at the beginning of the summer, Harry's feelings for her had slowly evaporated and left him with nothing left to give.

Harry stared hard at both Sarah and the hulking figure of the Slytherin dunderhead. For a moment, however fleeting, Harry _wanted_ to feel something, anything. Instead he looked on with legitimate indifference at the girl he used to care for.

"Okay", Harry said shrugging, still staring at the new couple, both of whom were shifting uncomfortably under his sharp gaze "Good for you, now leave… please" he finished flatly, turning his attention back toward his book.

"Hmph," Sarah said while releasing the tension that had been building up inside of her during the entire interaction, "fine, see you around then Harry" she said beginning to pull Montague away "Nice to see you Remus!" She added with her fake sincerity that always rubbed Harry the wrong way.

Remus nodded, and turned toward Harry who had looked back to his book while absentmindedly rubbing his prickling scar, with a sigh when the door to the compartment had finally slid shut leaving the room in silence once again.

Sirius would have most certainly taken the opportunity to pass on a few jokes at the expense of his godson, but Remus had always been the serious one, and continued to look at Harry with concern.

"I'm sorry you had to see that Remus" Harry said finally, still focused on his book. Harry had been doing his best to keep his now finished relationship with Sarah away from both Sirius and Remus.

"That's okay Harry, these things happen, and relationships end. The key isn't to focus on the negative but remember what was good about the relationship." Remus said "Think of it as a learning experience, and apply what you've learned in your next relationship". He finished with concern still etched clearly across his face.

"These experiences show what we can, and cannot deal with in a relationship. Sarah is still a good person, but her personality doesn't fit with yours" Remus added.

"Always trying to turn a poor situation into a learning experience" Harry chuckled lightly. He closed his book and turned toward Remus drawing his sweatshirt closer around him.

"Is you scar hurting again, Harry?" Remus asked, after seeing Harry rub his forehead again.

"Nothing serious". Harry said, pushing the pain out of his mind through Occulomency

Remus continued to look on with concern. Remus knew that Harry was always much more quiet and secluded while at Hogwarts but it was difficult to see how quickly he turned from his normal carefree teenaged attitude during the summers to the withdrawn mask of a hero during the school year.

When Harry had first brought Sarah home, he could see that Harry was happy that he was with someone that wasn't just distracted with the fact that he was the Boy Who Lived. Sarah clearly knew he could achieve so much more. Sarah didn't just see Harry as complete, and was always pushing him to strive for more. It was a welcomed change for Harry who had been constantly asked out by girls who only looked at his lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

Remus had noted that while Sarah had done wonders to help push Harry to reach his fullest potential, she also had put up constant unreachable expectations on Harry that really dragged him down instead of opening him up. It had come to the point near the end of their relationship where Harry was succeeding in his classwork and research, yet was immensely depressed and was not fully enjoying the process of his everyday life. In the end Sarah simply _had_ always been staring at his scar first, and to a large extent _had_ only looked at him as the Boy Who Lived, but it had manifested in a way in which Sarah had hoped to build him up even more to add to his legacy.

It was hard for both Remus and Sirius (although Sirius would never admit it) to see what was initially something immensely positive in Harry's life, become so unbearably negative. Harry had always been humble about his achievements, and even with Sarah out of his life he didn't give his exam scores a second glance.

Yet there was a fine line between staying humble, and simply being too hard on himself, which had been a constant internal battle that had been exacerbated with Sarah around. In the end both Remus and Sirius were glad that Sarah and Harry had finally broken up. Remus just hoped the kid could get over it at some point, and not allow it to hold him back from opening to others in the future.

"I'm glad that aspect of my life is over" Harry said honestly, after a few more minutes of silence.

"Me too," Remus said with a small grin, "She was too much for you, Harry."

Harry smirked for a short moment, and then turned his attention to the scenery passing by. He made the conscious effort to let his thoughts surrounding Sarah go and focused on his breathing and Occulomency.

His barriers were strong but it was important to always focus on them during times where your mind could be distracted. A constant Occulomency shield was critical for Harry, and it needed to be strong, and encompassing at all times.

Getting distracted was the easiest way for his barriers to fall and he could not let that happen, especially around Hogwarts.

"Good" Remus stated, noticing Harry's concentration, a clear indication on getting his emotions and thoughts in order "You've mastered that quite well Harry, Dumbledore will be impressed."

The forested hills, and setting sun indicated that they would be arriving at Hogwarts soon enough, but Harry just wasn't quite ready to put on his school robes yet.

"I need to get up to the castle the moment we get there so I won't be able to ride the carriages with you" Remus said, as he finished putting his robes on over his jeans and tee-shirt, while also storing away his cloak and jacket.

"I figured" Harry responded, slowly getting up and reaching for his trunk.

As he finished securing his gold and maroon tie, and fixing his prefect and quidditch captain badges to his robes the train slowly came to a stop at Hogsmeade station. Harry was happy that he was not made Head Boy. Harry had shown that he wasn't a hallway police officer, and Dumbledore took it in the appropriate way and gave it to someone else.

"See you up there Harry" Remus said with a smile before rushing to be one of the first off the train.

Harry sighed and slowly made his way to the nearest exit, passing a multitude of students of all ages, sizes, and houses. Most of them had gotten over the idea of Harry Potter at Hogwarts, but still many stared. First years staring up in awe with their mouths open, fifth, sixth, and even seventh year girls watching him as he passed, and many Slytherin's giving him hard stares.

He figured those glares were either the reverence of last years absolute thrashing of the Slytherin quidditch team in the final game, or just because he was Gryffindor's "Golden Boy". Either way he didn't care, and after dropping a quick hello and receiving a bone crushing from the distracted games keeper Rubius Hagrid, Harry was able to find an unoccupied carriage. He looked out too see the precession of Thestals pulling the carriages in a slow line up toward the castle seemingly never-ending through the thick mist that hung over the road.

Harry sighed at the thought of another year at Hogwarts, but reveled in the idea that after this year he would be done with structured education. His right hand unconsciously moved toward the pocket hidden inside of his robes and he pulled out an unopened pack of cigarettes. He hadn't smoked tobacco since last semester but just the thought of being stuck in the castle for the next few months forced all hesitation aside.

He snapped his fingers and a flame appeared out of nothingness, or that is to say everything, and lit the end of the first cigarette he could fish out of the fresh pack. He had been practicing light wandless magic, and honing his basic spells during the summer, but now that he was back at Hogwarts, and had a magical room such as the Room of Requirement to practice in, there were no limitations to his magical practice.

He was glad that he got to ride in the carriage alone to the castle, and was happy to find that his unapproachable mask that he put up when he got to Hogwarts never failed him, and always managed to scare the less determined people away.

The whole concept of the "Boy Who Lived" worked well for being an introvert. Although he was certainly detached from the student body, he could focus on his own personal education without any of the students asking too many questions.

He shuddered at the thought of what was going to happen at Hogwarts this year now that he was single, but took solace in the knowledge that his mask would be a decent enough deterrent.

As he took another drag of the cigarette, and came around another bend in the road he was finally able to get a clear view of the castle through the grown-in trees. It was alight with a yellow glow and was shrouded in mist that gave the magical castle a beautiful eerie glow.

As the clearly visible Thestals approached the castle, Harry reached over and opened up Hedwigs cage. "Go ahead girl, I'll come visit you soon, I promise" He said affectionately to his snowy white familiar. Hedwig hooted softly and nipped affectionately at his fingers before taking off in a streak of white toward the owlry hundreds of feet above.

Harry watched her go until she was a small white dot high along the castle before realizing the carriage had already come to a stop before the front doors.

He made his way to the front doors he took one final drag before tossing the cigarette aside, drawing negative looks from many of the girls around him.

 _Good,_ Harry thought, another deterrent. If the female population didn't already know he was single they would soon find out with Sarah around, and any deterrent was a positive one in his book.

Walking through the massive front doors Harry couldn't help but look up at the high vaulted ceiling that he once found inspiring and enchanting.


	2. Chapter 2

I own nothing, JK Rowling owns everything.

Hello! Here is chapter #2; I just wanted to say thank you for the 3 people that reviewed and the other 7 of you that followed/favorite the story. I will attempt to continue the good vibes here into the second chapter. Your comments and criticism (along with pointing out grammatical mistakes, etc.) is what this is all about. When you point out my mistakes I become a better writer, so I really appreciate it.

ANNNNND here we go.

Harry Potter sat at the far end of the Gryffindor dining table, and although he had some fourth years sitting relatively close to him, he was alone. He had watched the Sorting Hat sort all the new first years, and listened to its impassioned plea for house unity.

Harry had internally applauded the Sorting Hat, yet it was going to take a lot more than an intelligent magical object to break the hundred or so years of growing division between the houses.

Yet Harry knew that the issues between the houses were not solely due to the magical families that belonged to each house (such as the Malfoys, Notts, Weasleys, Lestranges, Longbottoms, and Potters). No, the root of the issue between the strongly divided houses of Hogwarts was due to the concept of factions in the first place. By placing so much emphasis on one desirable aspect of a personality over another, and due to the exacerbation of family fighting due to Voldemort, it seemed that the division between the houses would only continue to grow.

Harry sighed and looked at his half finished plate, cursing the fool who decided that pumpkin juice should be the only drink offered at Hogwarts.

" _Your_ Harry Potter!" said a high-pitched, excited voice from across the table. What was an empty seat across from him was now filled by a tiny first year with immensely wide brown eyes and larger than average ears. Sitting next to him was none other than Colin Creevey.

"Yep" Harry said evenly.

" _My_ name is Dennis Creevey, and I'm in Gryffindor too!" He practically yelled drawing the attention of the two fourth year girls who both consciously slid away from him.

"Mmm," Harry said, not even paying attention to the dinner food, which had magically been replaced with dessert making Dennis' eyes grow (somehow) even larger. "How exciting".

"I _know!"_ he said reverently, looking like he might wet his pants "I got into the same house as _the_ Harry Potter!"

Harry couldn't help but grin crookedly a bit at the tiny ball of energy.

Sensing this as an invite for him to continue, " _You're_ a prefect, _and_ the quidditch captain, I read about you winning the house cup last year in the paper! Is it true you fought off he-who-must-not-be-named who was controlling a professor? Is it true you killed a basilisk!?" He somehow fit that all into one breath while his eyes grew even larger at the thought of it all.

"Well…" Harry said slowly, he liked the kid, even though he was way too excitable. Colin was smiling at Dennis as if he couldn't be more proud of his brother. Harry enjoyed the fact that Dennis didn't point out his scar right away, and even though Harry loathed those who only saw him for his essential trouble seeking, he had a soft spot for the kid. "I suppose when you put it that way, yes. I had a lot of help though"

" _Whoa"_ Dennis said quietly.

"Harry!" Harry turned to see the Weasley twins making their way over towards the end of the table where Dennis was still staring wide-eyed at Harry.

"Hey you two. How was you're summer?" Harry asked the two fifth years. He wasn't particularly close to the Weasley family but he had been to the Borrow before with Sirius and Remus. He knew Percy, and was happy to be able to call the twins his friends.

Other than being able to trust Fred and George utterly with the beaters positions on the quidditch pitch, his opinion of them grew exponentially when they had given him the Marauders Map they had nicked from Filtch once they found out who the authors were.

"Simply stupendous my good fellow" Fred… or George said, as they took the unoccupied spots on the bench on either side of Harry.

"This is Dennis Creevey," Harry said motioning to the first year that was still staring wide-eyed at him, "He's one of the new lions"

Fred… or George's eyes light up and the one to Harry's left said "Ah! An ickle-firsty! Welcome to Hogwarts-"

"-And were Fred and George Weasley, and we promise we are much more famous, important, and cool that our good friend Harry here." The other twin nodded, matching his level of excitement to the first year.

All of a sudden one of the forth years that had quietly been listening in on their conversation since the twins had sat down burst into a bright yellow canary. Dennis yelled out loudly and actually jumped out of his seat and fell to the floor, while Colin seemed frozen in time staring at the full-grown canary standing on the table.

"What the fuck Weasley!" said the other forth year with clear indignation written across her face seeing her friend hop around the table in clear distress at being turned into a bird. It fell on deaf ears.

"That's right!" Fred yelled (Or George, Harry really couldn't tell) to the students from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff who had turned at the sound of the commotion. " Canary Creams! Just ten sickles a piece!" Fred… or George continued to yell about the couple of charmed candies they were selling and reminding everyone of its short supply Dennis warily raised himself back unto the bench.

George (Harry was pretty certain now) who hadn't gotten up to advertise their merchandise turned to Harry and said "We've been working on those all summer. Right difficult piece of transfiguration but once we got it down we've been able to replicate them quite easily. Just a little side project of ours" He winked conspiratorially at him.

To say that Harry was impressed would be an understatement. "That's really advanced transfiguration you guys" As Fred finished his speech, "when does it wear-"

Just as Harry was about to finish his question the yellow canary suddenly transformed into a scared looking fourth year girl laying in a pile of chocolate cake and other deserts.

"Why thank you Harry ma-boy" said Fred surveying the carnage proudly. He took a deep and audible sniff and sighed mightily, with a grin on his face he said with his head held high "Can't you just smell it Harry? Another year of fuckin with people at Hogwarts almost makes you wanna cry at the shear, raw, beauty of it all." He turned with a fake sniffle and linked arms with his brother and they skipped down to the other end of the table.

Harry could only shake his head in disbelief as the desserts finally disappeared as the girl climbed off the table muttering curses under her breath at the twins while syphoning off chocolate cake and apple pie from her robes.

Dumbledore rose from his seat at the teacher's table, and the room feel silent. Dumbledore had no doubt seen the canary creams in action, but had decided to direct the students attention to the pending announcements, one of which Harry knew included a surprise for the student body.

"Welcome, welcome, to another year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said with a smile and his carrying voice, "and to those joining our midst, I hope you enjoyed your first of many feasts." Dumbledore beamed.

"Now, as some of you might notice, we are joined by some newcomers", Dumbledore motioned to the two individuals sitting next to him, "Alastor Moody, and Bartemius Crouch are both here to assist in the return of the Triwizard Tournament here at Hogwarts!". Murmurs spread throughout the hall, as the students turned to each other to discuss the news. Harry had already known since the discussions had initially began at the Ministry, and it amused him slightly to see many of the students asking the same question to each other, _what is the Triwizard Tournament?_

"You're joking!" Yelled someone from the Gryffindor table, presumably Fred or George.

Albus smiled, and as he raised one arm, the room fell silent again. "Yes, the Triwizard Tournament. The tournament began some seven hundred years ago, and was discontinued due to the rather large number of deaths."

Whispers shot up all around the room, but stopped when The Headmaster raised his arm again, "There have been many attempts to resurrect the tournament, but those attempts have subsequently failed. Yet, due to the level of commitment on the part of the Ministry, and the dedication from the three schools, along with added security measures, the Triwizard Tournament shall make it's return to Hogwarts.

"Now, the delegations from Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang will be arriving in a matter of weeks, and the selections of the champions will take place following the Halloween feast. You will no doubt be notified when you may submit your name for the selection of the champion, but only students who are seventeen or older may submit their name for selection." There was an outcry from all four tables, but they feel silent once again when Dumbledore started talking. The headmaster moved to less interesting topics, such as different scheduling and the fact that Quidditch would be canceled this year, but Harry knew most of this information and he was able to tune it out.

Dumbledore soon dismissed the students with the usual warnings of avoiding the Forbidden Forest, and to follow the list of 1,000 sum rules written by Filtch that Fred and George had been slowly breaking one at a time since they were first years.

Harry turned away from the first and second year students and almost walked straight into Cedric Diggory who had been standing right behind him.

"We need to talk-," He said in a semi-serious voice.

"Hey Ced, how was your summer?" Harry asked.

"Great, I went to the World Cup - but that's besides the point, you didn't show up to the first prefects meeting of the year, and that might have been acceptable with Mary last year, but that will _not_ fly with me-"

Harry cut him off there with a raised hand. "Cedric" he said evenly "Look, I respect you, and you're a great prefect, but I don't really care. You can write me down for weekend late night rounds, along with early morning rounds. But, that means I might skip a few prefects meetings."

Cedric paused, and gave him a look. "Fine." He said finally. "But only because if Cho found out that you were offering this and I said no, she would kill me"

"That was my backup plan" Harry said with a small grin.

"Why are you so difficult Potter?" He said inquisitorially.

"Runs in the family." Harry said shrugging. Cedric raised his eyebrows for a moment, shrugged, then turned and walked out of the hall while reminding a pair of second years to not run through the Great Hall.

 _Well, that went better than I expected._ Harry thought, turning to wave goodbye to Remus who was just about to head out of the teacher's entrance.

Harry woke early in his comfortable four poster be. The quite snores from the other 7th year Gryffindor indicated that nobody else was awake. Harry turned to see that the sky was still nearly dark but turning a lighter shade of blue on the eastern horizon. Harry crawled out of bed and grabbed the pack of cigarettes inside of his nightstand drawer.

He made his way to the small balcony and walked out into the crisp autumn morning air looking down over the castle and over the forbidden forest.

He sighed and pulled out a cigarette lighting it with a snap of his fingers. He sat on the ledge looking over the edge down to the misty abyss. He didn't fear heights, but the thought of suicide didn't appeal to him either. As he took his first drag Hedwig flew down from the owlry to join in his early morning brooding.

He thought back on his six previous years at Hogwarts and felt a distinct feeling of underachievement. He was glad he went to Hogwarts to gain an education, but deep down he felt the need to go somewhere, and to do something. His life did not feel complete as so many who thought of him as the Boy Who Lived did, instead he felt like he had yet to accomplish anything.

Certainly he was glad he was able to save lives, and was happy to know that Voldemort had not yet regained full use of his body, but Harry felt deep down he was running against the clock. Sometimes, in moments like these he felt that he should be out there searching for all of the last remnants of Voldemort (or Tom Riddle as he had discovered), of which Dumbledore had been referring to.

As his cigarette began to dwindle, a reoccurring thought pulsated in his head, and it was time, he felt, for a nice and long discussion with Dumbledore.

He pitched the last of his cigarette over the edge and returned to the quiet and warmth of the dormitory.

Harry showered and changed, leaving the room well before anyone would wake. He wandered slowly through the halls and eventually made it down to the Great Hall. He was the first to Gryffindor table, and only the fifth person in the dining hall. He recognized Carmichael from Ravenclaw, who was sitting with three of his classmates.

 _Predictable._ Harry thought to himself, but then he noticed the lone Slytherin, Daphne Greengrass, who was sitting alone on the far table on the far bench. He ignored her and walked toward his customary spot at the end of table. Besides McGonagall, only Professor Vector was at the teacher's table.

Harry poured himself some coffee, and filled his plate with an assortment of breakfast foods. As was tradition between the two, Minerva McGonagall walked down from the head table to Harry to discuss his schedule.

"Ah yes mister Potter" she said inclining her head slightly at her star pupil "I was much impressed to hear that you received Outstanding scores on your 6th year exams, but after seeing you in my class there past years I have to say it was to be expected."

Harry smiled slightly, he did not know how to handle compliments, so naturally it made him feel awkward, yet he was no doubt pleased to hear the praise from his head of house. "Thank you," he said, finally.

There was the faintest hint of a smile on her face, "So, since you won't be dropping any courses this year, this will be your schedule this semester." Handing him the parchment, "I look forward to your work. I was very impressed last year, and I expect a continuation of that same sort of work ethic I've become accustomed to. Please, feel free to stop by my office anytime to discuss any research you may be focusing on."

She put her hand on his shoulder, and gave him a small smile, and then made her way to the other students slowly making their way into the Hall.

More students started moving into the Great Hall in larger and larger groups, and all of the teachers were now present, watching over the Hall while the heads of houses were giving out student's schedules.

There was a tap on his shoulder and he turned to see a timid third year with big eyes holding an envelope up to him.

"Thanks" Harry said with a smile taking the paper.

The third year just stared, turned and walked away quickly.

 _Alright then._ He though.

Harry opened the letter to find a note written in distinctive cursive that he knew belong to none other than the Headmaster:

 _Harry,_

 _Would you please join me in my office tonight after dinner?_

 _Best,_

 _Albus Dumbledore_

 _PS. I have been quite fond of the muggle cookie Ginger Snaps recently._

Harry closed the note and put it into the folds of his robes, while looking up to see the headmaster looking at him from the teacher's table with his twinkle in his eye. Harry inclined his head, and the headmaster smiled slightly while looking out toward the other students. Harry noticed Remus talking adamantly to Professor Flitwick, and Remus seemed to really be enjoying himself. Harry was happy for Remus, and couldn't help but look forward to his class with his defacto uncle after lunch.

Harry's first class of the day was Potions. Although Professor Snape had held a vendetta against Harry during his first year, even the potions master had been impressed by Harry's plethora of knowledge on the subject, and had subsequently started to treat Harry as if he was just an average student by the end of his third year.

Although Snape still had clear favoritism toward his students in Slytherin, he no longer tried to sneak in tough potions questions past Harry, who had yet to miss one. In fact, Snape had failed to deduct a single point from Harry in any of the previous years, as Harry had clearly inherited his mother's skill at potions.

This suited Harry, but he still didn't trust the former Death Eater.

Harry was the first to arrive to the class, which was fine by him seeing as the majority of students were probably still eating, and Snape only ever showed up exactly when class started. Which is why he was surprised to see the pale professor in the classroom already working on a potion in the far corner of the room.

"Mr. Potter" the potions professor said, his attention still completely on the potion.

"Professor." Harry said as he took a seat at the front of the class.

"Do you know what potion I am making currently?" Snape asked turning to him.

The distinct smell in the room would have been tough to spot for even a great potions student, but Harry knew it well. "Wolfsbane".

"Correct" Snape said, covering the smell and potion with some silent spell casting.

Harry hesitated. This was by far the most civil conversation they had ever had before, and Harry couldn't help but be a little wary of him. "Thank you for making it sir. Mine is passable at best, but-

"It is one of the most difficult potions to brew, and utterly outside of any NEWT level material." He said offhandedly as if it settled the matter.

"I have to say I was most impressed," he continued, "although not at all surprised by your 6th year scores. You've clearly inherited your mother's potion skills. I am sure though, that you will once again be the only lion in my NEWT level classes this year."

 _Was that a compliment?_ Harry thought _Well, it's certainly as close as it's going to get._

"Thank you sir" Harry said looking him directly in the eye this time. He felt a light prod on his thoughts from the professor but Harry deftly flicked it away. Snape smirked knowingly for a moment before turning to the entering students.

Harry sat slightly facing the wall to his left, unconsciously turning away from the other students in the class. As the last student walked through the dungeon door, it closed with an audible click behind him. Snape stood in front of everyone with his customary hard look. "Two Slytherin's, five Ravenclaws, and a Gryffindor". He said in his low voice he always used, by now each of the students in the class was used to the professors antics, but nonetheless it still created quite the atmosphere. There was no fucking around in this class.

Harry recognized the five Ravenclaws, but only really knew Justin Ackerley, who he played against in Quidditch, and was unsurprised to see Daphne Greengrass. The other Slytherin was a quiet friend of Daphne's, Michele Urquhart. Overall Harry wasn't surprised that not a single Hufflepuff had made it to the NEWT level potions class, or that he was the only Gryffindor.

"You know why you are here," Snape started "You know what was expected of you, and what is expected of you now. You all have been my best students, and I expect _nothing_ less in your NEWT year." He commanded a level of attention in his class that was unattainable from any other professor.

"A simple warm up, but nonetheless one potion in which you struggled with last year: Draught of Living Death… instructions are on the board, you know what to do. If you fail to produce at least a satisfactory Draught this time around… well" He said, and walked around to sit behind his desk surveying them as the eight students all rushed up to get their ingredients. "There will be absolutely no point in continuing this course hereafter."

Although Snape clearly took a different and possibly slightly lighter approach with his "star" students in his NEWT classes, the curriculum and expectations put forth were as trying as ever. Harry had produced a perfect Draught in his previous year, but he knew some of the other students weren't so lucky.

Harry grabbed ingredients off the grimy shelf, which included the watery sloth brain. Harry's knowledge of the Sopophorous bean suggested that he should crush the bean instead of the instructed cutting, to get the most liquid and after adding the sloths brain to the potion, he was well on his way to brewing a perfect Draught of Living Death.

As Harry waited the last two minutes and half for the potion to settle, he looked around the room to see his fellow classmates thoroughly concentrated on their potions. His attention was drawn to Daphne, who was finishing her final stirring. She was taller than average, and thin, but very athletic. Her blond hair was tied back in a light ponytail, her pale blue eyes fully concentrating on the flow of the lilac colored potion.

Harry's watch vibrated slightly indicating the two and a half minutes were up and he deftly added Valerian root, and the potion turned a pale pink color signifying his completion of the assignment He filled a vial of the potion and walked it to the front of the class placing it on the professor's desk, which awarded him a small approving nod before he walked out of the class.

As he wandered toward the Great Hall he looked up one of the staircases to see the fourth year Slytherin Malfoy walking with his two goons for friends down the staircase laughing loudly about something. Harry couldn't help himself and silently cast the _Glisseo_ spell watching as the staircase smoothed into a perfect stone slide. All three of the Slytherin's promptly fell on their asses and slide full speed down into a heap at the bottom of the stairs in front of dozens of students who were laughing merrily at the Slytherin's misfortune. Harry allowed himself a small smile before pocketing his wand and walking into the Great Hall.

"Get _off_ me you fools! Who did this!?" He heard Malfoy yell somewhere behind him to his two friends who had landed on top of him.

Harry paid them no mind, they had no idea it was him who sent them sprawling in front of many of the students. In fact they might just assume that the staircase had decided so to do so on its own.

Harry ate quickly. He was anxious to get to Defense as early as possible. Not just because it was his favorite subject, but that Remus would be the professor.

When he finished he gathered his bag and made his way out of the Great Hall toward Defense. When he entered the classroom he was once again the first student.

Remus was already sitting behind his desk, and looked up with a smile at his defacto nephew. "Harry. Early, I see. How has your day been so far?"

"Well, thanks for asking, Potions was good, but we worked on a previous potion, so it wasn't too difficult."

"Not surprising," Remus said with a small smirk, Harry couldn't help but agree. Although he held no outright animosity toward the Potions professor, he did not approve of his teaching style, as it didn't ever foster a positive learning environment. "Well, I suspect there will be many more students in DA this year… I couldn't help but have the level set at A, with how the past few professors handled the class…"

Harry chuckled slightly to himself "There's no doubt about that Moony. I have to say I'm thankful we finally have a great defense teacher, it was long overdue." Harry finished with a wink as he heard students moving into the class behind him.

In the end, all the confidence boosting Harry had been putting into Remus had been completely unnecessary. Remus might have felt nervous about it all summer, but right away Harry knew he was in for a good year of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Nearly every 7th year had taken the class, and the 30 or so students couldn't help but be pleased at the notion that their choice wasn't in vain. Although Harry was sure that some students, including those from his own house probably didn't care either way.

Remus had immediately pushed the class to focus on their non-verbal spell casting, something that many of the students at Hogwarts, even at a NEWT level, struggled with. Harry, on the other hand had already mastered nearly three years ago, so in essence he really didn't have to pay attention. Yet it was nice to reinforce the basics.

"Harry, why don't we give the students a demonstration of all this in action." Remus called to Harry, indicating for him to join him in the front of the class.

Harry grimaced internally, but knew it was for the betterment of the class. He moved toward the front of the class and drew his phoenix-feathered wand.

"I am going to attempt to stun Harry here, and he will attempt to block me, and we will do this silently" Remus said to the class who all looked on with interest.

Harry and Remus bowed to each other in the formal dueling manner, and Remus brandished his wand, giving Harry fair warning of the imminent spell.

Harry smirked slightly. The orange colored stunning spell shot toward him, _Protego!_ Watching as the strong shield burst from the tip of his wand, intercepting the spell and sending it back at a higher velocity toward Remus.

Remus sent it right back with a well placed shield, and Harry deftly avoided it with a step to his left returning fire with the jelly legs jinx. Remus blew it out of the air with another strong shield and signified the end of the small bout.

"Well done Harry" Remus said with a large smile. It was a simple duel, for show really. Harry and Remus had really been going at it for years now, and the spells they used in the dueling room at Potter Manor were far from the friendly stunner and minor jinx or hex.

"Now!" Moony said, turning toward the class, speaking over the light chatter that had started at the end of the duel, "I want you each to find a partner and begin practicing with your non-verbal spell casting. It's okay if you don't get a handle of it today, you will in time, I promise." He said with light in his eyes, he really did enjoy teaching "If you need any help or tips, I will be walking around, so lets go!"

"So what did you think Harry?" Remus asked leaning against his desk with a sigh. He had taken off one of his robes earlier during practical part of class, and he had rolled up his sleeves. He looked younger, healthier than Harry had seen him in some time. Harry couldn't help but feel immensely proud, and happy for his uncle.

"I think…" Harry said with a smile, "that Defense will be a favorite for a lot of students this year. You were awesome. Even I was interested, and I'm a defense snob." He admitted.

Remus laughed, "Come on Harry, non-verbal spell casting, and basic defense techniques? Honestly I am going to start giving you side projects if my upcoming material doesn't challenge you, but I had to assess their level of knowledge." Remus stood, and they made their way out of the classroom and down the stone corridors toward the Great Hall. They chatted about his first day teaching, Sirius, and Harry's upcoming meeting with Dumbledore.

They separated for dinner, and as Harry made his way to Gryffindor table, he still drew stares from the student population. Harry knew that the majority of the stares were from girls who knew nothing about him, but he also still drew stares from a certain contingency from the Slytherin table that had continually been a thorn in Harry's side. It seemed that Flint was back for another year at Hogwarts, an utter idiot who probably failed to acquire the minimum number of NEWTs.

Harry sighed at the thought of another year of sub-par insults. It made sense though; Flint _was_ a sub-par villain for Harry. Yet Harry knew even if Malfoy had been Harry's age he would have been just as sub-par compared to him.

Harry "brooded" throughout dinner as Sarah used to say to him. Thinking of Sarah bothered him. Although he was clearly over her, and had been with a couple of girls over the summer, he still looked back on her, and still thought of her. He suppressed the thought and finished his chicken and vegetables.

Harry took one last sip of pumpkin juice and left the Great Hall. He meandered his way to the headmaster's office knowing each of the fastest routes there from the Marauders map and his rounds as a prefect. He had been disinclined to mention that he didn't really do anything on his rounds except for exploring the castle and study in the room of requirement.

He faced the Gargoyle and stated, "ginger snaps", and watched as the staircase slowly appeared around the corner.

The office was open to him and he couldn't help but look up to the wall of former headmasters and headmistress's around him.

"Ah mister Potter, I hope your summer was well, are you looking forward to another year at Hogwarts?" asked one of the former headmasters

"Indeed." Harry said looking up to the former instructor "Although I have to say I am also rather looking forward to moving on as well." Harry smiled to himself knowing how to irk some of the former headmasters

"Humph-"

Harry ignored the portraits and turned his attention to Fawks, petting him lightly down his head and spine. Harry had a soft spot for the Phoenix, and after everything that occurred in the Chamber, he had felt a very close connection to the magical creature. Fawks let out something along the lines of a phoenix purr and it struck Harry how incredibly lucky it was for him to have met the Phoenix in the first place.

Harry turned as he heard the door to the office open to reveal the current headmaster.

"Harry" Dumbledore said with a smile and his customary twinkle in his eyes. He walked toward Harry and offered his hand. Harry took it, and they shook.

"Good to see you my boy", he made his way to the back of his desk and said "Please sit," as the headmaster sat himself into his comfortable chair.

Harry sat and surveyed the headmaster. He could still feel the strength that practically emanated from the wizard in front of him, but deep down it seemed that the headmaster looked a little tired, and maybe a bit worn out. Yet, Harry noticed that he hid it well behind his ever-calm demeanor

"You look tired sir" Harry noted, unable to contain himself.

Albus smiled gently for a moment, intertwining his fingers in front of him "You have always been far too perceptive Harry. You are correct, I am tired." He admitted, "This has been a trying summer, and deep down I have to say I believe that I am slowly… losing my touch." He admitted surveying Harry.

Harry looked at the Headmaster that he had considered to be something like a grandfather. It was hard for him to see the most powerful wizard in England slowly lose what he had spent so much of his life building on. Yet Harry knew also that even if Dumbledore was loosing his touch he was still probably the most powerful wizard in Britain.

"I believe the French would say something along the lines of 'c'est lavie', but deep down you know you could still take anyone in this world. But, I must ask, what has been so tiring sir?" Harry said.

Dumbledore smiled slightly again, and had that far away look in his eyes that anyone who spent time with Dumbledore had to become accustomed too. "You may be right Harry, but I have a feeling that that will slowly begin to change. I am sorry to say Harry that I am not willing to discuss that at this time but we will discuss it later in the semester." He said, opening his palms to Harry in a welcoming gesture.

"I believe that I will get right to the point, I asked you to come here today for multiple reasons but one of them is because I want you to have private lessons with me this semester." Dumbledore continued with a smile seeing Harry's raised eyebrows, "They will occur at night after all your regular classes are done. There are certain things that I need to show you, and then there will be many things I need to teach you in the realm of magic that are far more encompassing than your current courses." He said, his smile becoming smaller

Harry looked on with surprise, he honestly did not think that this was going to occur, but nonetheless he couldn't help but feel excited at the prospect. _This is what I've been waiting for._ Harry thought to himself.

"Well sir I am looking forward to it." He said honestly.

Dumbledore nodded with an indication that the matter was over and done with. "Well now that that is finished and out of the way, onto other things." Dumbledore's smile had disappeared and the twinkle in his eyes had diminished slightly. They sat for a few moments in silence.

"I wanted to say that I am sorry about this summer." He inclined his head with disappointment. "Our defense against that… for a lack of a better word, ugly piece of legislation this summer failed, and I take responsibility for that. No bill like that should ever pass in any government, and to see it pass in ours is truly a saddening loss."

"Yes sir" Harry said, sharing in his disappointment. They hadn't had a chance to sit and talk about it afterwards. "Unfortunately the vote was already set before we even stepped into the room. Umbridge knew she had enough votes ahead of time, or else she would have put it off another few weeks and bribed and threatened her way to the votes needed".

Dumbledore sighed, "Unfortunately I believe that you may be right Harry, as disappointing as that notion may sound."

"It does sir, but it's certainly not your fault. This shit happens." Harry said with a disappointed shrug.

"Indeed it has, but it shouldn't" Dumbledore said, not scolding him for his language, as he stood and walked around the office "It is another disappointment in a lengthening line of disappointments that have occurred recently in the Ministry. That and rumblings of darkness rising in Albania, Romania, and even here in England has begun to worry me. I have seen this cycle many times before." The headmaster said with a faraway look on his aged face. Harry looked to see the Daily Prophet open on a reading table, with the Dark Mark stark against the page.

The words felt heavy, and Harry felt the change in the meaning of the words. Dumbledore continued "I believe that it is only going to become more difficult" he said turning toward Harry looking at him for sometime before continuing "I have a distinct hunch (Harry knew that Dumbledore's hunches were always spot on) that Tom Riddle is not quite done with this world and he will be coming back … That is part of the reason I am planning on giving you private lessons this year."

"Harry" He said, standing, and moving around the table to put a hand on his shoulder "There are many things you need to know… things that I haven't told you before because I felt that you had been too young before. I believe that I alone will not be sufficient to defeat him, and that is why I need you Harry. I promise to be as honest as I can with you, and throughout our lessons I will explain and show you all that I have withheld from you, and all that I have discovered so far…" He paused before he continued, the smile and twinkle long gone, replaced by what Harry thought was remorse.

He looked even older and for a moment all light seemed to have left the great wizard. The very room had become darker around them, "I have failed you far too often Harry. I have lied to you to protect you, and after Quirrell, and the Chamber, I have nearly cost you your life as well… That must end, and after everything I have to show you, I hope you can forgive me."

The last sentence took Harry off-guard. Harry considered himself one of the lucky few students to ever have any sort of relationship with the headmaster. Although his circumstances were certainly different than most students, the headmaster rarely if ever got to know a student as well as he knew Harry. Harry was used to the image of a confident leader that the headmaster constantly kept up, and to hear him be so open, so forthright and apologetic was a much different side to the headmaster that Harry was sure that nobody had ever seen before. Fawks gave a low sad noise feeling his familiar seem so sad seemed difficult for the Phoenix as well. Harry was uncertain of himself in that moment, attempting to process all of the information that had just been thrown at him.

Harry looked up to the headmaster's eyes, and deep down he vaguely knew what the headmaster was insinuating, but he reserved judgment for now. Partly for giving Dumbledore the chance to explain everything, partly for protecting himself from the truth Harry already knew.

Ever since Harry first found out why his parents had sacrificed themselves to protect him, he had known, subconsciously, that Voldemort was not gone, and that someday he would return. He had turned away from the praise of defeating the Dark Lord, because deep down he knew that Voldemort wasn't completely gone. Those thoughts had been confirmed through the Chamber, Quirrell, and his research throughout the summer. And although the majority of the wizarding world still vehemently thought that Voldemort was gone, Harry knew that this was only the beginning.

The drive for knowledge that came when he found the reasons behind his parent's death flared within him once again. Although Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore had tried their best to give Harry a normal childhood, he knew he was different. The first confirmation had come with when he had obtained his want, and that difference again had manifested clearly at Hogwarts through his academics and through his lack of interaction with other students.

It had saddened Dumbledore, but Harry thought it inevitable. He had spent the vast majority of his life thinking about what would happen if or when Voldemort would return. Instead of thinking of starting a career, or trying to play professional sports, he saw only darkness in his future, had always just seen darkness. He channeled that thinking to become everything and more. So the idea that this was keeping his headmaster up at night changed nothing, but validated all he had been working on, and reaffirmed that he had so much more to learn. Instead of dread at the thought of Voldemort trying to kill him he felt determination instead.

Harry stood suddenly, and looked the Headmaster in the eyes. The room was silent, as all of the former Headmasters and Headmistresses looked on.

"I know how Tom Riddle has survived." Harry said, evenly, although the weight of his hypothesis was heavy on his mind.

Dumbledore had a rare look of surprise on his face. "Oh? And how do you think he has prevailed, Harry?"

Harry felt the goosebumps running up and down his arms at the horrendous concept that he had spent all summer researching, hoping against hope that it wasn't true. "Horcruxes."

The room itself seemed to dim once again, and Dumbledore's face seemed as grave as ever.

The Headmaster took a long few moments before replying, "Yes Harry, I believe you're right."

"You know I'm right Headmaster." The two stood facing each other in the middle of the room.

"How many?" Harry asked, not breaking eye contact with the Headmaster, he wanted to be absolutely certain, to know exactly what he was up against.

"I wonder Harry, how was it you came across this knowledge-." Dumbledore asked seriously, but was cut off.

"Tamper with the deepest mysteries- the source of life, the essence of self- only if prepared for consequences of the most extreme and dangerous kind". Harry quoted.

"Adalbert Waffling, the first law of Magic" Dumbledore nearly whispered.

" _Secrets of the Darkest Art."_ Harry said, "Explicit instructions on how to make one. Herpo the Fool was just that. I of course came across a copy through my travels this summer. You're avoiding the question professor, how many?" Harry said in a tougher voice.

Dumbledore looked at him again, "I assume you made the connection to the diary?"

"Immediately. How many professor?"

"I don't know the exact number Harry, but multiple. Some of which you have already destroyed." Dumbledore said, giving Harry a look he couldn't quite discern. "Yet we have some time, and through due-diligence we will destroy them Harry."

Harry felt less than satisfied, but he was glad he could clear the air between himself and the Headmaster. Harry simply nodded.

Dumbledore gave him another smile. "I assume this has been on your mind all summer?"

"Of course, sir." Harry said, looking around the room and avoiding his piercing gaze.

"Is there something else on your mind in regards to these horcruxes?" Albus asked, as Harry continued to avoid his gaze."

"No sir".

"Well, lets dwell on this topic at a later date. Your passion for knowledge will make this process much, much easier. For now though, I believe it is best if you head to bed." The headmaster gave him one last small smile, and made his way back to his desk.

Harry turned, and walked towards the door in the still silent office. Harry turned as he reached the door and said, "Good night professor"

"Good night Harry, and sleep well." Dumbledore said.

As the door closed behind Harry one of the headmasters in a frame high above Dumbledore's desk stated, "In my day I would never allow a student to speak to me as an equal Albus, and private lessons? I don't understand why you would do such a thing for a student"

"Yes well, he is quite special Watterson."

"Humph", the former headmaster intoned, "seems to lack manners, if I may say so myself."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Rowling owns all the things.

A/N: So here's the next chapter. It's a bit long, but that's just how it goes. You get more because you're awesome. Yes! You!

When I posted the second chapter, we had like, 3 reviews, and 7 followers. At the moment of this A/N, we're at 15 reviews and 160 follows, so you get more. I appreciate each and every one of you: Especially those who review.

My life is pretty crazy right now with everything that's going on, including attempting to renew my residence permit, so it was pretty cool seeing all of these notifications with people following the story.

Again, your comments and criticism is always appreciated. I most certainly edited this document over a few beers, so expect mistakes.

Anyways, enough about me, and my problems. Here's the next chapter:

The week had passed quickly, and Harry fell back into the flow of Hogwarts almost effortlessly. He was indecisive about being stuck in Hogwarts, still ignored the student population, still smoked cigarettes, and still passed on his prefect duties besides rounds. So in essence it was another normal year at Hogwarts. Harry spent his time doing his assignments in the library, and researching spells.

Harry strolled through the nearly empty halls on the sunny Friday afternoon toward a classroom adjacent to the headmaster's office. Not many students hung out around this part of the castle. It was a natural avoidance pattern of the student body that Harry didn't really understand. It was like a natural aversion of the Headmasters corridor that affected most of the student body besides him, and maybe the twins.

Harry came to a plain wooden door he had not seen before in this area of the castle. He looked up and down the empty corridor wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him. He thought it was worth a look, and he opened the door and stepped into the pitch-black room.

The door snapped shut behind him and Harry felt a stab of fear instinctively run through his body. It was so _black_ he couldn't see anything around him. He turned around to go back through the door, but the door was gone.

Suddenly green light seemed to emanate through the room, and a woman's scream reverberated through the darkness, combined with a high-pitched maniacal laugh.

Silence returned, and whispers began…. _Potter._ It began in a low voice, and as it was repeated again and again in a louder and louder voice.

Harry woke with a start the reverberation of _Potter_ still resounding throughout his head. He was sweating and panting slightly looking around the closed hangings of his four-poster bed. His heart was beating as if he was in the heat of a quidditch match.

His breathing evened out and he reached through the hanging and grabbed his watch. It read 5:45.

Harry paused, and realized that he hadn't had a serious nightmare since he had established his Occulomency walls. This dream felt different, as if it had run directly into his subconscious, and past his substantial defenses.

Harry had found that he stood very little chance of falling back to sleep after these nightmares and decided to visit Hedwig in the owlry before going down for breakfast. He put on his school robes, and walked through the empty corridors to the owlry.

When Harry arrived Hedwig landed on his shoulder lightly, and he fed her an owl treat that she was partial to. Harry couldn't help but marvel at the snowy white coat of his familiar, and reminded himself to visit Hagrid, who had given him Hedwig right before his first year at Hogwarts.

Hedwig hooted slightly as Harry made his way to the opening looking out across the beautiful landscape in front of him. He pulled out a cigarette while lighting the tip with a snap of his fingers. It was a crisp, clear day, but the sun was still many minutes away from rising. Harry enjoyed these moments before sunrise. Hogwarts was certainly a peaceful place, but ever the more serene in the time just before sunrise.

Harry felt another person enter the owlry quietly and he closed his eyes reaching out mentally to feel whom the other student was. _Daphne,_ he realized from the face of her thoughts. He heard an owl flutter down to her and he could hear her quiet feet padding across the straw covered floor.

Harry sighed, and pitched the cigarette over the side of the stone railing. He enjoyed the solitude of the owlry in the early morning, and couldn't help but be a little disappointed in someone barging in on his time with Hedwig when they were watching the sunrise together.

"Daphne." Harry said in greeting, still not turning to her. He knew how her mind felt now that they shared all of their classes together. In previous years he hadn't given her much of a second glace, which was perpetuated when he was seeing Sarah.

"How did you know it was me?" She asked from somewhere behind him.

Harry smiled to himself and turned to her. "Everyone feels different if you know where to look."

She scoffed. "Whatever Potter." Her false 'Ice Queen' mask firmly in place.

Harry didn't particularly care about the other students at Hogwarts, but Daphne intrigued him. Even though Daphne worked hard to seemingly fit in, she was different from the other Slytherin students. There was a weight to her personality, a weight that may not have been there when she was young, but one developed at a far too young age.

"You can drop that shit around me Daphne." Harry said lightheartedly, with a practiced small smile on his face. "I don't care that you're apart of Slytherin, and I don't care about your reputation."

"Whatever Potter." She repeated, attaching the letter to her barn own who immediately swopped off into the lightening skyline.

"Seriously though," He said, "Why bother with your act around me? I understand we may not know each other well, but you know I can see past your walls."

"You wouldn't understand Potter, but I suppose that was predicable since you come from the Neanderthal house." Daphne stated tonelessly as she walked up beside him to look out over the grounds.

"Please," Harry said rolling his eyes, and pushing in glasses up his nose while also turning to survey the brightening sky. "You know the whole house division is ridiculous. It is an unnecessary divide, and the real world is above such things."

Daphne paused for a moment and looked at Harry. "Yeah, but it _is_ there, and you _are_ theGryffindor Golden Boy, so how 'bout we just get used to the idea that you're the leader of the light, and I'm Slytherin's Ice Queen and we just move on."

"Because it is so clearly evident that you want nothing to do with it, and you want so desperately for someone to break through that thin mask you have cultivated over the years." Harry said, clasping his hands behind his back as Hedwig took off toward the rafters seeing that she was no longer the center of attention. She dug in her claws a little harder than necessary as she took off, and Harry winced inwardly.

Daphne glared at him "Oh, and you think _you_ will be the one to open me up Potter? You like the idea of a challenge? Bag the Slytherin Ice Queen to fully cement your name in Gryffindor lore?"

"I thought we already established that I care little for Gryffindor glory. I don't hope to 'bag' you Daphne. Just because the rest of Slytherin believes that I am some sort of glory seeking 'golden' boy doesn't mean you have to. I think that you have the capacity to know better than that, don't you?" Harry asked evenly.

She stared at him for a moment, feigning a reassessing look, "Oh my goodness, you're so right, how very Slytherin of you Harry" she said in a mocking tone.

"One of the best compliments," Harry said while ignoring Daphne's tone, "I have ever received is when the sorting hat said I would succeed in any of the houses. Why do you submit to the Slytherin mindset? Why do you pretend to be apart of that?" He asked. He already knew the answer but wanted to hear it from Daphne.

She stared at him again, her bright eyes piercing his. If Harry's resolve had not been as strong he would have felt almost awkward under her gaze. "Because I have to." She said in a resolute, and firm tone.

When he was younger, Harry might have asked why, but knowing how tight knit the Slytherin house was, rendered the question irrelevant. He had just wanted to hear her say it herself. Harry nodded, "I can understand that."

"Get over yourself, Potter." She said looking at him, her mask gone, replaced with honest frustration. "You don't understand a single part of what I have to do. I may not understand what happened with that oaf Quirrell, or that Weasley girl, or any of the other shit your name is always attached to, but I stay in the shadows for a reason. I stay out of the way, and if you were smart you would too."

"I don't have much of a choice." Harry said. "But I do understand your strife."

"No Potter, you don't. You're so damned melodramatic, it's borderline insufferable." She said, crossing her arms.

Harry turned completely towards her has she finished her small rant, "Yes well, I know you have to look out for your sister Astoria. I know you're worried about the fact that she is so friendly with Draco. I know you're worried about your parents Thomas and Mary because even though your family is one of the 'sacred' twenty-eight many believe that the events that occurred at the World Cup is putting pressure on the Greengrass house-hold; especially due to the fact that they failed to fully align with the Dark Lord at his height, and the whispers of his possible return has no doubt put stress upon you and your family." He said, in quick succession, resulting in Daphne to look on with surprise.

Although Voldemort had been temporarily vanquished for years, Death Eaters were still a vocal terrorist group in England, the Greengrass family were always pureblood, but never truly were apart of Voldemorts crowd.

Daphne stared at Harry for a few moments longer, and then nodded once at Harry. "I would watch out for Flint. Malfoy is still years away, but it's only a matter of time with that father of his. Crabbe and Goyle will join him… Nott too."

Harry grimaced. He knew Flint was a crap villain to his "hero" mantra but it still made him feel distinctly ill that teenagers were still being recruited to the Death Eaters.

They both turned, and spent a few minutes watching the sunrise.

Harry zoned out a bit while watching the light slowly make its path across the ground. The thoughts of Tom Riddle firmly entrenched in his mind.

"So, friends?" Harry asked as he turned to her.

Daphne looked at him with a small smile. "Please Potter, this is our first real civilized conversation. To a Slytherin were still a ways away from being 'friends'. Maybe I can trust you to save me from some Dragon, but that doesn't mean you're a trustworthy person."

"Acquaintances?" He asked, arranging a cute pout across his features.

Daphne rolled her eyes with the hint of a real smile on her face now. _It suits her better than her mask_ , Harry thought. "Whatever Potter, maybe if you start dropping that 'whoa is me' act…. I'll see you in class."

She turned and made her way out of the owlry and Harry smiled to himself. It only took him until his seventh year, but it seemed that Harry might possibly be on his way to gaining his first real friend.

Harry turned to see that the sun had fully risen.

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"How has your week been Harry?" Dumbledore asked, relaxing into his chair.

"Alright sir, thank you for asking" Harry said tiredly.

Dumbledore nodded slowly surveying Harry.

"I will assume you remember where we left off during our previous meeting, and I hope that I can be around enough so that we can have consistent, for lack of a better term, lessons." He said.

"I'm sure you're wondering what you are going to learn in our lessons and let me assure you that they will assist you, even if at some points, the information does not seem relevant." The Headmaster continued.

Albus stood, and motion for Harry to follow him. They made their way over to the Pensive. The lighting in the office dimmed considerably and the blue glow of the pensive became the dominant source of light. The former Headmasters all looked down on Harry and Dumbledore as he drew a translucent vial from the inside of his robes. Dumbledore poured it into the pensive and the memory swirled into life. The headmaster and student looked at each other briefly and leaned head first into the pensive.

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When they emerged Harry couldn't help but be surprised to find out about the heritage of Tom Riddle through the eyes of Ogden. Dumbledore had explained that Merope was Tom Riddles mother, and connection to the Slytherin's line. With everything that he new about Voldemorts ideals, he had assumed that Riddle was a pureblood, and to find out that he had been the son of a love potion seemed to diminish his narrative. Outside of his lengthy claim to being Slytherin's heir, it seemed that Voldemort was just a powerful wizard who had a following that, by all accounts should only tolerate Tom Riddle from a blood-purity perspective.

"Now Harry, to bridge the gap before the next memory; Merope eventually stopped giving the love potion to Riddle Sr. most likely believing that their connection was real. Riddle unsurprisingly left her and the child. As you can imagine, left Merope in quite the state and she lost all will to live. She ended up giving birth to Tom Riddle and dying soon after leaving him at an orphanage. This next memory is from the first time I met Tom Riddle. I hope you find it as illuminating as I have."

Dumbledore poured in the second memory and without further discussion both went headfirst back into the pensive.

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Harry found this memory much more fascinating. The teacher and student moved away from the pensive silently and Harry stood in front of the headmaster's desk.

Harry thought aloud "So much control over his magic already, so much manipulation of the other children, and almost complete self-sufficiency by his age…" He paused for another moment looking back on the emotions that had crossed the young wizards face. "He was in control but there were moments of eagerness, of shelving information. He was so calculating even at a young age. A no doubt 'pure' Slytherin if I've ever seen one." Letting a little dispassion into his voice due to his feelings toward the housing system.

Dumbledore nodded along with his assessment. "So you can understand why I was so intrigued. I too was unsurprised that he was immediately placed in Slytherin. Not because of the bullying, parselmouth, and cruel use of his considerable magical talent, but how he processed things, how he questioned me, how he calculated everything even at such as young age. He is a product of his life experiences, and possibly a product of his heritage."

"Of course." Harry said looking up to his headmaster's eyes "It's clear as day. I would have been intrigued as well. Of course hindsight is twenty-twenty, there's no way anyone could have known what he would become, but he had the disposition for it at such a young age."

"The perfect storm. I of course, may have had my doubts, but he was the ideal student. The other professors thought he was a tremendous prodigy… very eager to learn… similar to how many view you, Harry." Dumbledore said gravely.

"I kept a close eye on him, but I had not even the faintest idea of what he would become. Certainly the signs were there, but it is difficult to imagine a student so young to become a future murderer." Dumbledore said, as he sat back down at his desk.

Harry stayed standing as he walked back into the center of the headmaster's office. He was surrounded by trinkets of all shapes and sizes, along with the paintings of the formers headmasters and headmistresses. A fire crackled in the corner of the room, and in the silence Harry continued to brood over the multitude of hypothesizes in his head.

Harry stood there without moving for some time, as he followed the thoughts through their logical conclusions.

"I assume Tom killed his family, then." Harry said quietly, as he turned back towards the headmaster.

Dumbledore was looking at Harry closely, and silence filled the room again, except for the crackling wood filling the room with its aroma. All of the former heads of the school watched the conversation intently, including the larger portrait of Dippet behind Dumbledore.

Dumbledore brought his hands together in front of him as he sat up more straight in his chair.

"Indeed Harry, he did. How did you know?"

Harry didn't want to say exactly how he guessed correctly, but the question warranted at least part of the truth. "It just seems like the natural progression from there. It seems logical that he would sooner or later kill his muggle family."

Dumbledore continued to watch him closely, but Harry ignored him.

A few moments passed and then Harry sighed. He had just been given a lot to think about, a lot to process. In many ways he sympathized with Tom. He had been powerful like Tom, especially at a young age. He could remember having almost complete control of his magic at a young age, which had created a multitude of opposing sentiments in their small household. Harry had no doubt been tough to handle as a child, yet he had such a positive learning environment with a lot of love in his defacto family. Harry too could have been an orphan, and although he would like to think that he wouldn't have channeled his bitterness toward hurting and manipulating other children like Tom had, it wasn't outside of the realm of possibility.

Tom, like Harry was a product of his experiences in life, Harry could completely understand the negative emotions running through Tom, and could understand why he turned out to be the kid that he was, and that scared Harry.

Harry could see the same thirst for knowledge in Tom's eyes that Harry had felt when he began learning about magic. The same drive that pushed him forward today.

Dumbledore smiled sadly at Harry. "As you can imagine his drive for knowledge made him a star student when he arrived at Hogwarts. He attacked every new lesson, every new theory of magic that he could get his hands on. He quickly became a favorite of nearly every professor at the school at the time."

"Besides you, of course." Harry denoted from the tone in his Headmasters voice.

"Indeed" Dumbledore nodded sagely. "Even Headmaster Dippet couldn't hide his scholarly affection for the Slytherin prodigy. There was no doubt that he was a prodigy… in fact he may have been even better than you Harry."

There was a break in the conversation. Harry didn't mind that there were students in Hogwarts past that were better than him. It would be surprising to Harry if there weren't. Some Ravenclaws in recent past had scored better than him in some subjects, and he knew the Granger girl who was just a few years younger than him was also exceptional. Yet Harry knew it wasn't just scores, but pure power that had set Tom Riddle apart.

"Things changed as Tom moved toward his sixth year at Hogwarts though." Dumbledore said with a sigh. "I have to say I tried my best to keep a closer watch on him, but… things occurred. Darkness filled the halls and fewer students went out at night. It was a natural aversion I believe. It wasn't that students were afraid, but wary. There was a collective chill in the school that I had never felt before; one that hasn't been felt since he left."

"Students, specifically muggle born would come to the hospital wing with strange mental and physical injures and no recollection of how they got them. The houses became more divided than ever. Tom seemed to rule the school in more ways than one. He had a close following, but Tom always walked alone. In many ways it was a precursor of what was to come and I believe that if Tom could go redo his years at Hogwarts he would have taken more caution around me." Dumbledore admitted.

"There was nothing to be done though." Dumbledore said with disappointment and even a little anger in his sharp blue eyes "I could do nothing to persuade Dippet of the danger that this student could bring to these halls… and then the Chamber…" Dumbledore's eyes met Harry's "Which we know that Hagrid has been wrongly accused twice for opening, resulted in the death of a muggleborn, and nearly the closing of the school."

Dumbledore looked off into the distance for some time before saying, "When Tom came back for his final year at Hogwarts he was away as much as he was in class. He was still a prodigy, and was able to get away with nearly anything. It was in his final year at Hogwarts in which I believe he really started to walk a new, and even darker path."

There was silence for a few minutes, and then Dumbledore sighed again, "Yet I believe that is for our next lesson." His eyes brightened slightly "I hope it was illuminating for you, although I am sure you are disappointed I did not show you some advanced spells." He said with a small smile on his face.

"That's quite alright sir, this has given me much to think about." Harry said honestly.

Dumbledore nodded once, and looked satisfied by his answer "Well then," he said surveying Harry over his interlocked fingers. "Until next week then. I believe you have homework to complete, and prefect meetings to skip out on." He said with a small smile.

Harry looked back at him with, what he assumed was a guilty look.

Dumbledore chuckled, and reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a piece of parchment, signing it with a flourish. He handed it to Harry, "This is a yearlong pass to the restricted section. Which I am sure will be easier than sneaking around with your wonderful map and cloak." He said with a smile.

"Until next week Harry." He said.

"Yes sir." Harry said walking toward the door.

Saturday came, and Harry was able to find some time to write to Sirius about the start of the semester. The full moon was coming soon, and they were planning a small foray into the Forest with Remus, who would of course be taking the wolfsbane as an added layer of protection.

Harry had no doubt that Remus would flat-out refuse to go out unless he had the wolfsbane, and since they had been running around the grounds at the Potter Manor ever since Harry was able to perfect changing into his animagus form, Remus was willing to go.

After breakfast he finished an assignment for McGonagall, and made his way down to Hagrids hut. Harry knocked on the door and fang barked widely from inside the home. The door opened and Hagrid stood there with a smile big on his face.

"Harry! How are yea?" He asked, giving him a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm well" Harry responded wincing, once he was replaced to the floor from Hagrids hug. Hagrid directed them to chairs outside the hut that looked out over the grounds and up to the castle.

"How are you Hagrid? How was the rest of your summer?" Harry asked, placing the large cup of tea Hagrid had brought out onto the grass next to him.

"Oh, it was fine, I'm just fine. We're gettin' closer to the Triwizard tournament soon, and I've got ter' help prepare stuff for them around the grounds for the tasks. Right difficult stuff, but we will manage." Hagrid had a small twinkle in his eyes, which suggested to Harry that whatever it was they had in store for the champions, it would include some sort of magical beast. Only the thought of seeing magical beasts would incite such excitement in the gameskeeper.

"I assume some interesting creatures, no doubt?" Harry inquired, sipping at his tea.

"Oho, just you wait 'arry. It's gonna be a right challenge for whoever gets selection. I wouldn' envy them. We're gonna import-" Hagrid stopped short. Then gave Harry a stern look.

"Now wait just'a moment there Harry, you know I can't be telling you about tha'". He said reproachfully.

Harry smiled, and Hagrid let out a small chuckle . He knew Hagrid would have caught himself sooner or later. He may let things slip, but he was nothing but loyal to Dumbledore. It was an insane thought to imagine that Hagrid was once a suspect for opening the Chamber of Secrets.

They exchanged a few more pleasantries, and they soon feel into a comfortable silence as they looked out over the grounds. Harry pulled out the cigarettes out his pocket and lit one. If Hagrid had any complaints, he didn't say anything. Harry watched the smoke dissipating in front of him.

"Remus came by the other day, and he said yer had ended it with Sarah." Hagrid ventured, while still looking out towards the rolling clouds moving through the early afternoon air.

Harry took another drag, and took some time before answering. "Yeah. I suppose it just didn't work out, you know?"

"Ah, that's alright 'Arry. She's a' nice girl, but not for you. You'll find someone else sometime."

Harry doubted that, but he didn't voice his opinion. He took another drag, and exhaled the smoke. Breaking up with Sarah wasn't exactly a fun topic, but nonetheless after a certain period of time, it was inevitable. This was his path to walk alone. The more he learned about his situation with Riddle… well he just thought it was smart to avoid hurting another person if Riddle got the better of him.

Hagrid decided to change topics. "So are you gonna enter the tournament 'Arry?"

Harry smiled a bit, and glanced sideways at him. Hagrid was looking at him now, with general interest.

"What, Remus didn't have an answer for you?"

"Ah, well. He didn' know what you were gonna do" Hagrid said with honesty.

Harry took a deep breath, and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know Hagrid. Maybe it's best if I just let them…" Harry trailed off. He thought about the prospect for what felt like the 10th time now. The challenge was enticing. The thought of winning, and building his own story beyond the fact that his parent were killed, that he had survived the killing curse, followed by the 'mysterious' ending of Quirrells tenure, and stopping the bloody writing on the wall from happening again.

It was a somewhat childish thought. He should be focusing on eliminating Voldemort from the face of the earth. Yet, he decided to come back one more year. This was his choice to hide one more year behind the defenses of Hogwarts. That extra safety net, like the fidelius charm on the Potter Manor, gave him the space he needed to develop a plan, learn more, and work with Dumbledore. So isn't it okay to maximize one's time while at Hogwarts?

Hagrid had waited to see if he was going to continue.

"I'll think about it." Harry said eventually.

Hagrid nodded, and they sat together in silence again as they watched the birds make there way too and from the trees. Harry thought he might have seen a Thestal fly up above the tree line off in the distance. The temperature had begun to drop, and soon the sun too. It was nice sitting here with Hagrid. He was able to enjoy the grounds, and the relative peace. It felt like peace would be in short supply sooner or later, and that it was important to take advantage of situations like this.

They had finished their third cup of tea, before one of them suggested walking up for dinner.

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A few nights later, on the night of the full moon Harry was walking up to Remus's office to meet up with Sirius before heading down to the Whomping Willow, he heard some raised voices on the adjacent hall.

Harry made his way through a secret passageway, and peered behind a canvas covering the path. There he saw Malfoy and his two friends Crabbe and Goyle laughing and kicking a figure on the floor.

Harry whipped out his wand and froze Crabbe and Goyle in place, and in five quick steps grabbed Malfoy by the front his robes and pushed him hard into the wall. Malfoys head made a satisfying thud against the stonewall, and he whimpered slightly.

Harry looked down and saw the young Longbottom boy lying face-up on the ground frozen in place with a bloody nose and cuts on his face, pain clearly etched across his features.

Harry turned back to Draco still held under his much more significant strength.

"So." Harry snarled in a low menacing voice, struggling not to simply put his hand on Draco's throat and choke the boy out. "You think it's funny hurting innocent students-"

"What seems to be the problem here?" Harry turned towards the unmistakable drawl of Severus Snape, while simultaneously letting go of Draco.

The potions professor was walking down the deserted hallway towards the scene wrapped in his usual dark robes.

Malfoy smiled instantly at his luck, "Sir, Potter here attacked us from behind! He froze Crabbe and Goyle, and smashed me into the wall!"

As Snape finally reached them he looked down at the still bloodied form of Neville Longbottom, and the frozen forms of Crabbe and Goyle still clearly in mid-kicks aimed towards the prone form on the ground.

He quirked one eyebrow at the obvious scene, and addressed Malfoy, "It seems that you were physically beating a student in the hallway Mr. Malfoy. Detention, all three of you. I will be sure to write to your parents about your use of muggle force on Longbottom here."

The potions master then turned to Harry, "I expect better from a prefect Mr. Potter. You should have not grabbed Malfoy. You should have sent them to me immediately and handed them detention. I expect better of you… Now," He unfroze the two Slytherin's with a wave of his wand, "To my office with you three, and we will schedule your detentions for this blatant display of thuggery for which I assumed all Slytherin's implicitly understood as beneath them." He said in a dark voice.

"Mr. Potter, I am sure you can deal with Mr. Longbottom here." He swept down the hall with the three Slytherin's following closely behind. Malfoy turned and gave him a sneer before turning the corner.

Harry watched them go before turning towards the still frozen Longbottom. Harry quickly unfroze him, and kneeled beside him. Longbottom coughed up some blood on the carpet before saying in a still shaken voice, "Thanks Harry. They came up from behind me…. Just thanks… I appreciate it."

Without saying anything else, Harry used some healing charms and cleaned up Neville enough to the point where even Madame Pomfrey would feel satisfied. He cleaned the carpet of blood, and helped the younger Gryffindor to his feet.

Harry gave him a smile and fixed Neville's collar. "No problem Neville. I'm sorry I left you on the ground there for so long. I shouldn't have gotten so angry. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm all right. They've gotten me before, nothing I can really do about it." Neville said, while looking to the floor.

Harry knew about Neville's situation. He even went with Sirius and Remus a couple of times to visit Neville's parents at St. Mungo's. The kid had it rough. "Well hey, just let me know if you ever need anything alright? I could help you with some spells to help defend yourself a bit next time. I know once you learn a bit more you'll be great, just like your parent were back in the day."

Neville kept looking at the floor and mumbled something sounding like "Gran"

Harry said putting his hand on Neville's shoulder until he looked up at Harry. "How about we meet up sometime and I'll help you improve."

Neville looked up in surprise, "You mean that Harry? You won't be too busy?"

Harry smiled, it might continue to fill his already hectic schedule, but this was worth the time invested. "Of course Neville, we're going to make time for it. Now, I have to go, but I'll set a time with you sometime soon, alright?"

Neville nodded with a faint smile.

"Alright, well you should head back to the common room before curfew."

Neville nodded again, and left back towards Gryffindor tower.

As Harry watched him go, and painting behind him spoke. "Well done Mr. Potter."

Harry ignored it, and began walking towards the Defense classroom. Harry thought back to what had just happened, and felt frustrated about his anger getting the best of him. He should have just given them detention and helped Longbottom immediately. Instead his anger had taken over, Longbottom spent too long on the ground bleeding, and that upset him.

He walked into the Defense classroom, and saw Sirius and Remus standing behind the desk next to a potion. Sirius yelled out, and ran to give Harry a hug.

Harry forced a smile, and Remus and Sirius noticed immediately and asked what happened. Harry told them what had occurred in the hallway, and while Sirius was surprised that Snape hadn't given him detention, Remus was focusing more on Neville.

"That's nice of you do offer to teach him. He really seems to lack the confidence necessary, no doubt a byproduct of living with Augusta." Remus pointed out.

Sirius turned back towards Remus, "Yeah, that woman is a bit of a git."

Remus smiled and swiftly drank the potion in one go, and placed the empty cup back on his desk. "Alright," He said, "lets go."

Harry, Remus, and Sirius made there way through the hallways and out to the grounds. They used disillusionment charms instead of cloaks considering nobody paid too much attention. They moved across the dimly lit grounds, through the Whomping Willow, down the passageway, and into the Shrieking Shack.

It didn't take long for Remus to go through the difficult changing process. Sirius changed into his dog form, and Harry into his wolf form. Although Harry had hoped initially that he would take the same form as his patronus, the wolf was more of a predator, and it just seemed to suit Harry.

Harry couldn't have imagined what it was like when Remus was fully a werewolf. It must have been difficult to keep him in check, while now he was downright docile. They spent the uneventful evening exploring the forest, wrestling, and chasing random animals. It was enjoyable to forget one's normal worries and just focus on having fun. It was probably more true for Sirius and Remus who were able to explore the Forbidden Forest, and relive their youth. Harry supposed it might have been even more nostalgic if he was indeed a stag, but fate had it's own agenda.

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Morning came far too quickly, and Harry treated himself to multiple cups of coffee over breakfast. He was tired from last night, but the exhaustion was matched with the unmistakable feeling of elation. It was fun to run around with Sirius and Remus, just like back at the Manor. It was like getting high, but way more illegal.

Harry shared a smile with Remus across the room, who looked even more exhausted than him.

The rest of the week moved by quickly. Harry got Outstandings on his transfiguration and charms homework, and he was on his way to finishing the preparation for the complex veritaserum potion that would take up the next months worth of potions courses. The student body was beginning to become excited about the arrival of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegation, and Filtch was on a warpath to get the school as clean as possible.

With the semester in full swing, the first Hogsmeade visit was also just around the corner. Harry planned to meet up with Sirius and Remus and grab a few beers at the Three Broomsticks.

Harry was walking down the corridor from a particularly invigorating Defense class, when a tall Ravenclaw girl, Harry would expect to be around her 5th year, walked up to him and handed him a note. "The Headmaster wanted me to give this to you." She said with all the air of professionalism a 15 year old could muster. Harry had to hold back a laugh before thanking her for bringing him the note.

 _Harry,_

 _Would you be so kind as to join me in my office later this evening? I believe it is time we had a more practical experience in our lessons._

 _Best,_

 _Albus Dumbledore_

With the lack of a warning on the possibility of a password change Harry assumed it was still the same. The rest of the day Harry couldn't help but look forward to the lesson with Dumbledore.

After dinner, and impatiently waiting in Gryffindor tower for an appropriate time, Harry finally felt it was late enough to go to Dumbledore's office.

When Harry entered the headmasters' office, Dumbledore was already waiting for him with the pensive on the table.

"Harry, I hope you have been well." Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Indeed sir, maybe a little tired but I am well. And you, sir?"

"I am well Harry, I no doubt attribute your tiredness to some late night adventures?" Dumbledore inquired with his knowing look.

Harry chuckled. H supposed the fact that Sirius had come for the full moon was about as good of an indication as ever as to their actions. Yet, Dumbledore did not seem upset.

"That's quite alright Harry, it is important to have fun sometimes. An experience we must always make some time for…. Now, onto less enjoyable subjects… When we last met Tom was in school, and a certifiable prodigy. Yet, as we both know, there were some instances of true darkness permeating through the halls.

"This specific memory was most difficult to procure. I know you will find it just as illuminating as I".

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When they came back out of the pensive the first thing Harry noted was that his initial hypothesis about Riddle killing his family was easily confirmed.

"So," Harry said aloud, as he paced through the room "He obviously tampered with Morfin's memory, and then compelled him to admit to the crime… Once everything blew over, he converted that ring into a horcruxes… and hid it where?"

Dumbledore sat back in his chair and watched Harry process the information.

Harry stood still for a few moments looking at the Headmaster. "No…. No…. Come on, he's not that stupid, is he?" Harry asked with surprise.

Dumbledore smiled slightly, but his eyes no longer twinkled. "Stupid, Harry? No. I doubt that he ever expected anyone to discover that he had made horcruxes in the first place. He put an inordinate amount of emphasis on magical strength, and lore, as you will soon learn."

"So if the dammed ring is at the Gaunt house, we should go get it, shouldn't we?" Harry asked, with excitement in his voice.

"Well Harry, I was waiting for you to come to that very deduction. Would you be interested in going together?" Dumbledore asked, sitting higher up in his chair.

"Yeah! Of course! When should we go?"

"Well, there's no time better than the present." The Headmaster said, standing up from his chair and moving across the room to gather a cloak. "Shall we?"

Harry almost couldn't believe that they were going after a horcrux so soon, but he felt excitement running through him. "Absolutely professor." Harry said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

It seemed surreal that they were going for the horcrux at the Gaunt home, but at the same time it was clear Dumbledore had been sitting on the information for some time. Harry was surprised Dumbledore hadn't gone himself.

"Why did you wait for me, sir?" Harry asked as they walked through the dark grounds towards the barriers of the school.

"Well honestly Harry, I almost didn't, but then I thought that since we were working together on this, it was only fair that I waited for you to come to your own conclusion. The fact that it matches mine, and that the ring is most certainly there… well it seems only fair that we check it out together." Dumbledore said, as he moved swiftly through the final defenses of the school. The headmaster could still move quickly, and there was no doubt strength within the former dueling master. Harry had to nearly jog to keep up.

"It seems best that we don't notify anyone of our small foray, and hopefully nobody will be the wiser. We will be doing side-along apparition Harry. Although I know you have your license, you won't know the area such as I." Dumbledore put his hand out, and Harry grabbed it firmly, and they immediately were both drawn into the familiar uncomfortable feeling of apparition.

They arrived with a snap in the cool autumn air a short distance away from where the Gaunt house once stood. Dumbledore and Harry approached carefully, both with their wands out.

Harry watched as the headmaster waved his wand in a multitude of intricate patterns. Harry felt the wards around the destroyed building falling one by one under the precise wand movements.

Soon they were walking closer and closer to the ruins. Harry felt slightly useless with the headmaster doing all the work. Although Harry had some extensive knowledge of wards for a student, he was no match for the work of Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore.

"That should do it." Albus said, as they approached the decrepit remains of the house.

In the moment it seemed far too easy. There was still an eerie feeling in air as they started walking through the destroyed home.

They were searching for about ten minutes before Harry saw it first. He called out, "Professor, I believe I've found it."

Dumbledore made his way over to Harry, and as Harry moved away a piece of wood. Gaunts ring sat flat on the ground. It seemed almost innocuous, if it wasn't for the sinister feeling Harry felt as they both leaned in closer to the ring. Harry was beginning to assess the ring more, as he felt a weird pull coming from the ring. It was calling to him, and he felt a strange desire to put the ring on. Yet the feeling was two-fold; the compulsion to put it on was strong, but the pull from the object itself was nothing compared to the feeling of another… _something_ hidden beneath the surface of the ring that dominated over the compulsion. It felt like a living creature, which was connecting with something inside of his chest. The two feelings were intoxicating, but Harry was able to differentiate the feelings, and was able to come to his senses momentarily.

Harry saw something move out of the corner of his eye, and he whipped out his wand, "Albus, no!" Harry roared, freezing the headmaster's hand mere inches from the ring. "What are you doing?" Harry yelled. It reverberated around the clearing, and the cool breeze that had permeated through the area seemed to stop. In fact everything had seemed to stop; the sound of the woods, the faint sound of cars on the road down the hill. It was like they had stepped into a small bubble that surrounded the ring itself.

The headmasters eyes, which had been glazed over returned to their normal state. Dumbledore was looking at him from the corner of his eye while leaning towards the ring, clearly suggesting that he had overcome whatever had overcome him. Yet, Harry didn't want to risk it. He tore a piece of his robe off, and wrapped the ring in the spare piece of cloth, and stored it in his pocket. The air around them recovered, and the sounds of the night filled the air.

The ring seemed to weigh much more than it would seem while it was sitting in his pocket, but Harry fortified his Occulomency shields and was able to push the weight away. Harry unfroze Dumbledore, and they both stood over where the ring once lay. They were both breathing deeply, as if they had overcome something much more circumstantial than picking up a ring from the ground.

"Thank you Harry… I am not quite sure what came over me." Albus said eventually. "I - I have no doubt that you saved me from certain death." The headmaster admitted.

"Forget about it." Harry said, as he came down from the high of the moment. "That's why you brought me. Two minds are better than one. I am sure I would have done the same thing if it wasn't for something else pulling me towards the ring; something that overcame the feeling of the compulsion charm." Harry said honestly.

Dumbledore quirked an eyebrow at him, but Harry didn't feel like elaborating at this moment.

"Lets get out of here, and destroy this thing."

"A fine idea Harry, lets."

They apparated back to outside of Hogwarts boundaries, and walked up through the grounds to the castle. Neither of them spoke a word to each other until they were back in the Headmasters office. Harry wordlessly pulled the piece of his robe out of his pocket, and without touching the ring, dumped it onto a spare table in the middle of the room.

"How are we going to destroy this, sir?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore, who never missed an opportunity to make something into a learning lesson, much like Remus, stated, "Well, how did you destroy the diary?"

"With a basilisk fang. I could go get one if you want, sir." Harry said, matter of factly. It would only take him a few minutes, especially if he could grab his broom from his room first.

Dumbledore chucked. "Well, as interesting as that small journey would be, I think it won't be necessary. Since you used Gryffindor's sword to kill the basilisk, there is little doubt that the sword is imbued with basilisk venom."

He held up a finger, and walked across the room to a cabinet and pulled the sword out. A faint whisper that had filled Harry's head since carrying the ring in the piece of his robe grew louder and louder as Dumbledore walked across the room. Harry felt his scar prickle, and he pushed hard against the attempted mental intrusion emanating from the ring. Harry put his hand to his forehead, and closed his eyes, focusing exclusively on his Occulomency shields.

Harry heard Dumbledore stop walking, "Harry are you alright?" he asked with concern.

"Yes," Harry said with his voice slightly strained, "just do it, sir, quickly."

Harry opened his eyes just as the Headmaster swung the sword down hard directly onto the ring. An ear-splitting scream reverberated from the ring, and black smoke shot out unnaturally quick all around the room, encompassing everything in darkness, before it finally dissipated into nothingness. The strain on Harry's mental shields released as quickly as it had come, and he felt that he could breath normally again.

They stood in silence, looking down at the ring, and the sword imbedded into the table. Dumbledore deftly pulled the sword free of the wood, and handed it to Harry.

"Well, another step in the right direction, Harry. Thank you for your assistance."

Harry walked back over to the cabinet and put the sword back in its place on the shelf. When Harry turned back around Dumbledore was already sitting back at his desk, looking tired after their small adventure. Harry walked over to his customary chair and sat down facing the Headmaster.

They sat in silence for some time, both processing the series of events that led them to this moment.

"How is your scar, Harry?"

"I'll be alright, sir. It just got to me." Harry replied.

"I felt it too. It was magic of the darkest kind. We are lucky to have been able to dispatch of it so easily." Dumbledore said, surveying Harry with concern still on his face.

Harry didn't feel the need to respond, and they both took a few moments of silence together.

"Well, I believe that will do for tonight Harry. It turned out to be a much more interesting evening that I had anticipated. I believe that next time we meet it will be to go over the last few memories I have for you that will hopefully push us in the right direction of the whereabouts of the rest of the horcruxes."

"Certainly, sir". Harry looked down at his watch to see that it was much later in the evening that he anticipated, and it would be good for him to try to get some sleep before his classes.

"Thank you again Harry, I am very lucky to have brought you with me this evening. It could have been a much more different result." Dumbledore said, standing up and looking Harry directly in the eyes.

"Of course sir, I apologize for the outburst…"

"That's quite alright, I was indeed acting like a fool. I should have expected something like that to occur, but instead I let my guard down. Thanks to your quick thinking you saved me from an assuredly painful death." Dumbledore said.

Harry nodded, not quite sure what to say.

"Well, I believe some rest would be a good idea. The Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations will be arriving in a few days, and it will no doubt require both of our undivided attention." Dumbledore continued. Harry took this as his queue to leave.

Harry nodded, and walked out of the room wishing the headmaster a good night.

As Harry walked through the halls, he realized that even though it was 3 am, he felt little desire to sleep. He walked up to his dorm room, grabbed his cigarettes and a bottle of fire whiskey he had thrown in his trunk last minute when he was packing, and sat out on the balcony overlooking the grounds. It was quiet, and there was just a small breeze at the top of Gryffindor tower.

Harry sat there for hours smoking just a couple of cigarettes and drinking very little of the whiskey. He didn't overdue it; it wasn't about dulling the senses, or attempting to forget what happened. It was about passing the time, and allowing his mind to wander through the events of the evening. He didn't know what he would have done if he hadn't stopped Dumbledore just in time.

Either way, getting rid of the horcrux was decidedly easy. He had no doubt in his mind that the rest of the horcruxes would be much more difficult to obtain. Yet, only time would tell, and knowing there was one less horcrux out there eased his mind for the moment.

Harry looked out towards the rising sun, and after checking his watch he felt that it was an appropriate time to go down to the Great Hall for breakfast and a few cups of coffee.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing, JK Rowling owns all the things.

A/N: So here's the next chapter. I apologize for not updating sooner; I've been traveling in the Ukraine and I didn't have the time to edit and upload this chapter. On that note, my small vacation is over, and I will be back focusing on real life.

Someone in the reviews asked, and so here is the answer: I've also been attempting to renew my residence permit for the Czech Republic, so that has also been another fun and exciting addition to my weekly to-do list. Yay bureaucracy! (but seriously, please don't kick me out Czech Republic, I am added value to society, I write fanfiction)

I will be doing some more traveling over the coming weeks, but I will at least have some time to work on the next chapter ^_^ - Anyways, thank you everyone for liking/following the story, I am glad people are enjoying it. I would also like to especially thank all of you who have written a review; it means a lot to me to see your thoughts and suggestions.

I am excited to continue this story, and I hope you are too.

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On the day of the arrival of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons delegations, Harry was sitting in the transfiguration classroom with the rest of the 7th year NEWT students working on changing their chairs into mammals. It was a difficult strand of transfiguration, but once one had the basic concepts down, along with the proper wand movement…

The chair in front of him turned into an exact replica of Sirius' animagus form. Harry smiled to himself as the big black dog ran around the room barking merrily. Harry looked around to see that he was the first to successfully change the chair, and when the dog returned, Harry quickly changed it back into his chair.

Professor McGonagall came over to see Harry's work. "Well done Mr. Potter, will you perform the transfiguration once more please?" She asked.

Harry focused for a moment, made the necessary wand movements, and the chair turned into McGonagall's animagus form, and promptly jumped onto the table and faced the transfiguration professor.

McGonagall gave Harry one of her rare smiles, "Very well done Mr. Potter. Five points to Gryffindor."

She then turned to the rest of the NEWT students who were in various stages of attempting to change their chairs into living animals. "I believe that's enough for today. This is a difficult piece of Transfiguration, and will no doubt take some time to master. To those of you who've failed to properly change their chairs, you will write a foot and a half on the theoretical steps necessary of changing inanimate objects due by the next class. You are dismissed."

McGonagall turned and walked back to her desk as the students packed up their school items and began filing out of the classroom.

At around 5:45PM the students were assembled in the Great Hall, and were soon ushered out into the grounds to wait for the arrival of the delegations.

Professor McGonagall was on a bit of a warpath, and was attempting to get everyone in line, which was no easy task with a bunch of teenagers and children. Nonetheless she was eventually successful in establishing some sort of order over the students. Harry did have to give a second year boy a hard look, but when he saw Harry looking at him, he stopped trying to get his friends attention.

Harry stared at his shoes for some time contemplating the ridiculousness of the fact that they were standing outside when they could have just waited in the Great Hall, but that decision was not his to make. He yawned, and felt boredom run through him. Finally a student yelled out, signifying the arrival of the first delegation. Harry watched as the flying carriage pulled by massive horses flew through the air, and landed safely on the ground. Within minutes the Beauxbatons students were making their way up towards the castle headed by what Harry assumed was a half-giant like Hagrid.

Pleasantries were exchanged, and Harry watched the French students who all looked extremely cold in the relatively crisp autumn air. A few had put scarves around their head, as they were forced to stand and wait for the Durmstrang delegation.

Soon enough though, Harry watched the ship emerge from the water signaling the arrival of the Durmstrang students. The other European students joined the rest of Beauxbatons and Hogwarts students, and they all waked up to the castle. Harry gave Neville a wink as they walked into the Great Hall for the feast. The head table was especially full with the addition of the fool Igor Karkaroff, a former Deatheater whom unsurprisingly Sirius had many negative things to say about, and Olympe Maxime, who Harry knew little of. Also joining the head of the table was none other than Bartemius Crouch, Ludo Bagman, and Alastor Moody.

Moody was drinking from his hip flask, which by itself was a normal occurrence, but Harry's gaze was transfixed momentarily on his movements. Harry brought himself out of his mental ravine, and looked around the Great Hall.

The Durmstrang students had decided to sit with the Slytherin house, while the Beauxbatons chose the Ravenclaws. _Fitting,_ Harry thought to himself. He could see Victor Krum, the Quidditch player sitting with a rather smug looking Draco Malfoy and Marcus Flint. The Durmstrang students seemed impressed with the place, which indicated to Harry that the Durmstrang school was most likely much more sparse. The Beauxbatons students on the other hand looked glumly around the Hall, some were admiring the starry sky above, while others seemed wholeheartedly unimpressed. _I suppose there are many ways to approach new experiences,_ Harry concluded.

Soon enough Dumbledore stood to address the crowded Hall. "Welcome, welcome. It is an incredible honor to be joined by two such historical institutes, and their talented students." He beamed at the students in the Hall. "Now, I am sure you would like to know that The Goblet of Fire will be lit after the feast, and then the Triwizard Tournament will officially begin. But, until then, I do hope you enjoy the feast!"

At that moment the food appeared across all the tables, and the students began putting different sustenance on their plates. Neville, who was sitting across from Harry asked him about some of the new dishes that had appeared. Clearly the house elves were attempting to help the traveling students feel more at home. Harry saw many dishes native to the southern and eastern parts of Europe.

"What's that one?" Neville asked, pointing towards a soup like dish.

"Bouillabaisse," Harry responded. He recognized it from his latest trip to the south of France. "It originates from Marseilles I believe. "

"Is it good?" Neville asked, eyeing the dish.

Harry smiled. "Only one way to find out." He put some of the food onto both of their plates and began eating. Harry tried his best to try all the different dishes, and he certainly enjoyed some more than others.

About halfway through the feast Harry was helping himself to another serving of the foreign food when one of the Beauxbatons students approached. She had apparently taken off her scarf off at some point during the meal, and her blond hair fell down to waist. She was exceptionally beautiful, and Harry felt that there was no doubt that she had veela somewhere in her heritage.

"Excuse moi, are you finished with the bouillabaisse?" She said with a French accent, looking at Harry.

Neville stared, utterly frozen in place.

Harry, having met with veela before knew that he had no difficulty with their allure, and could ignore the ever so slight pull. Yet, he felt some sort of pang within him, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Oui, bien sûr." Harry said evenly, reaching over and handing her the bowl.

She paused, and then smiled, "Ah, vous parlez Français?"

"Oui, de temps en temps" Harry responded. It was best not to highlight his time spent in France researching horcruxes, but at the same time it was nice to provide a bit of mystery.

"Il est bon de savoir que quelqu-un parle francais ici." (it is nice to know that someone speaks French here) She said.

"À votre santé", Harry said while nodding once at her.

She smiled again before saying, "merci," and she turned and headed back to the Ravenclaw table with the bowl of bouillabaisse.

"She's beautiful." Neville managed, in a strained voice when she was gone.

Harry looked back over at Neville and smiled a little. "Indeed. Now this is a perfect situation for me to say that character amounts to more than genetics, but I would be remiss to disagree with you."

"Is she veela?" Neville asked.

"Um, I would definitely say she has veela heritage, but she's most certainly not a full veela." Harry said. He was still thinking about the girl. She was indeed beautiful, and her eyes did seem to pierce his in a way that he had not felt before. It made his heart feel slightly heavy, and if he was honest with himself, slightly uncomfortable.

He quelled the feeling. She was just a girl, and his feelings were no doubt attributed to her veela allure. He scoffed to himself as he looked around to see more boys staring at the girl. He had no difficulty with a veela allure previously, and was still able to ignore hers, so Harry assumed it was a moment of mental weakness that resulted in the proverbial butterflies that ran through his system.

Harry skipped dessert, and treated himself to more pumpkin juice as he waited for the feast to come to an end. It did not take long, and soon the dishes were cleared from the table. Dumbledore finally stood, and addressed the room. There was clear excitement in the air, and even Harry felt a bit of it too. Everyone was paying rapt attention to the Hogwarts headmaster.

"So, the moment we've all been waiting for. In a moment Filch will bring out the Goblet, and the tournament will begin, but before we do so I would like to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for being here this evening. Especially Bartemius Crouch, Ludo Bagman, and Alastor Moody for the incredible amount of time they have put into making the return on the Triwizard Tournament possible." The headmaster said, indicating to the individuals at the staff table.

There was a respectable round of applause, which ended quickly when Dumbledore began speaking again. "Headmaster Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, and I will be joined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman as the panel of judges for the three tasks."

"Now, as you are all aware, one champion will be chosen from each school, and they will receive a score out of fifty after each task. The champion with the highest score at the end of the tournament will be declared the winner." _Thank you for stating the obvious,_ Harry thought to himself, but he was still paying close attention to the headmaster.

"So," Dumbledore said, pulling out his wand and tapping the box in front of him three times, and drawing out the Goblet. "Those of you who feel that they would like to submit their name for the tournament will have twenty-four hours to do so. I urge all of those interested to think very carefully on their decision. There is no turning back if you are chosen as the champion. You will be bound to compete. For now, the Goblet will be moved into the entrance hall for all of you who wish to apply. I will personally draw an age line, and I offer you fair warning to those who attempt to get by it." Dumbledore said, with a quick glance over towards the Weasley twins who were looking on, mesmerized by the Goblet.

The students from all three schools sat still as they stared either at the goblet or Dumbledore. "Now, to each and every one of you who decide to submit their name into the goblet…. I wish you the very best of luck", Dumbledore said, with his kindhearted smile.

The students all stood, as they watched Dumbledore levitate the goblet through the dining area and into the Great Hall. A blue line surrounded the Goblet, which signified that the age line was firmly in place.

Neville turned to Harry as students started to file out of the Hall. Many gave the Goblet a wide berth, while others stood and looked either at the Goblet itself of the age line surrounding it. "Are you going to enter Harry?"

Harry looked down at Neville, sighed and looked back at the Goblet. He heard a clunking behind him, and he turned to see Alastor Moody approaching him from the head table. "What do you think Mad-Eye? Should I enter?"

Alastor Moody gave him an assessing look. "I dunno Potter, it couldn't hurt. I hear you're well on your way to becoming an auror, might be a good way to test your wits."

Harry frowned slightly. There was a part of him that wanted to stay out of the limelight, like Daphne had suggested. He should instead focus on learning more magic in hopes of catching up to Voldemort. Yet, at the same time was this not a good way to test his mettle? The introverted part of him wanted to sit in the library until the end of the year, focusing on the more advanced forms of magic, and working with Dumbledore on finding the horcruxes, yet another part of him wanted to win, and show people that he was the hero they yearned for. Harry didn't find Moody's thoughts on testing himself as an auror to be a particularly compelling argument, but deep down he had already decided. _Fuck it_ he thought to himself, _there's no better moment than the present._ "I'm in." He said quietly.

A huge smile broke out across Neville's, "You're gonna win Harry!" Even Alastor Moody cracked one of his creepy looking smiles.

A few students behind him obviously had also heard what he said, "Oi! Potter's gonna' put his name in!" Someone yelled, and soon the news reverberated around the Hall.

"Anyone got a quill and parchment?" Harry asked in a louder voice, looking around at the Gryffindor students who had all turned to him when they heard the news.

"I do!" A girls voice replied. Harry looked to his left and saw a Gryffindor approach him.

Harry took the piece of parchment, and signed his name with a flourish. "You're Hermione Granger, right?"

"Yes." She said in response, looking up at him.

"McGonagall tells me you're the best in your year. Thank you for the parchment, I really appreciate it." He smiled at her, and walked swiftly ahead, cutting his way easily through the crowd who parted quickly for him.

He reached the entrance hall and saw that all of the Durmstrang Students and Beauxbatons students were still assessing the Goblet, and clearly before anyone else had the nerve to put their name in, Harry moved across the age line and stepped up to the Goblet. He paused for a moment, and then tossed the parchment in. The Goblet gave a soft glow, and then returned to its normal state.

Some of the Hogwarts students clapped slowly, and Harry walked towards corridor that would eventually lead back to Gryffindor tower. He walked past Daphne, and gave her a quick wink, which she returned with a small smile. _Fuck it._ Harry repeated in his head. _Let's do it._

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Harry slept exceptionally well, and woke up as his 7th year classmates were getting dressed. After saying hello, and taking a quick shower, Harry went down to the common room. Neville was there, and so were Fred and George. Harry heard a couple of 'Good for you Harry,', 'Hope you get it over Diggory," on his way over to the twins, and he acknowledged them with small 'thanks'. He took a seat in one of the chairs and asked, "How's it going?"

"How's it going? How's it going?" Fred, or George asked with an exasperated look. "We've been planning this aging potion, and then you just decide you're going to enter the tournament?"

Harry laughed, "What? It was my choice to make. You can still go try to get past the age line, but I promise you it's not going to work." Harry said.

"Oh, it'll work," Said George, or Fred waving the vial. "This is the perfect aging potion, and it says it'll pass any age line restriction."

Harry laughed again, "Oh, this I have to see. Well come on then, I don't want to miss this spectacle… or breakfast for that matter." Harry walked with the twins and Neville down to the entrance hall. Many students from all three schools were milling about around the goblet. Some had already finished breakfast, and some had not gone inside yet, hoping to get a chance to see someone put their name in.

The twins approached everything at maximum bravado, and this situation was no different. They linked arms, drank the potion, walked towards the age line, and unsurprisingly failed miserably.

Harry was still joking with Neville about it over breakfast, when Harry heard some cheers coming from the entrance hall. Cedric Diggory had apparently put his name in the Goblet too. Harry felt that Cedric would be the ideal Hogwarts champion. He was smart, charming, head boy, and in that short moment Harry couldn't help but feel a strange sense of inadequacy. Although he was better in many aspects, Cedric was the more undamaged, and untarnished individual. He was clean in his time at Hogwarts. The consummate good-guy, while Harry's time at Hogwarts was marked with controversy in regards to the strange events that he was always involved in.

Harry had been through much darker things. He was a known parseltongue, the guy with voices in his head, a person for which dark events always seemed to happen to- while Cedric was just generally more popular. It wasn't that Harry was jealous, it was more the fact that he felt Cedric would be the better champion because he actually had a childhood, and was the ideal Hufflepuff to the core. Cedric was the nice guy, while Harry… well Sarah had plenty to say about it.

The rest of Saturday moved on quickly enough. Harry stopped by Hagrid's for a cup of tea. Apparently Hagrid had been raising Blast-ended skrewts, which were some ridiculous magical creature that had no business being raised on Hogwarts grounds. Yet, Harry deducted that the skrewts would be involved in the tasks somehow. On the bright side, it just took a couple of well placed spells to take care of a fully grown skrewt, so Harry felt he would survive them just fine.

Harry spent a few hours of his day in the library working on assignments from Flitwick of advanced Charms work, and finished a progress report for Snape on the Veritaserum potion that he was still brewing. When Harry finished his last sentence on the paper for Flitwick, he let out a deep sigh and closed his Charms book. He sat back in the uncomfortable wooden chair and massaged his temples. He was one of the only students in the library today, but that was normal. It was Halloween, and the champions would be selected soon, so it was understandable that nobody wanted to study on a day like this. He checked his watch for what felt for the 20th time since he sat down in the library in hopes of passing time.

Finally, as Harry was sitting in the Gryffindor common room in the chair by the fire talking to Neville about possible times for their lessons, it was time to go down for the feast.

The corridors and staircases were decked out for the Halloween festivities, and the Great Hall was no different. There seemed to be even more floating candles and there were pumpkins in the air this evening. There were even candies out on the table before the meal, overall it made for quite the spectacle. The student body was much louder than at usual feasts, and nearly everyone was talking about who would be selected as the champion of each school.

"It's got to be Krum!" Someone exclaimed from another table. "It's gonna' be Diggory for sure!" said another Hufflepuff. "Are you daft? You saw that Potter put his name in, didn't you?" A Gryffindor yelled back.

Harry smiled to himself, and sat with Neville at the table. Some students seemed almost too nervous to eat, but Harry did not; he felt utterly relaxed. Although he certainly felt that he wanted to be the school champion, even if he didn't get chosen it wouldn't be the end of the world. At the end of the day, this was all still about Tom Riddle. He knew that if he was chosen or not, he was prepared.

Finally, after the desert plates were cleaned, the room began to fill with barely restrained excitement. The teachers, heads of the schools, and the judges all looked expectantly at Dumbledore, who took one last sip from his goblet before standing. Moody, Harry noticed was paying rapt attention, while others like Ludo Bagman looked excited, and possibly a bit intoxicated.

"I believe that if my timing is correct, the Goblet will make its first selection in just a few moments." Dumbledore said with a smile, clasping his hands together in front of his robes, and looking out over the Hall.

There were a few moments of silence, the Goblet burst into red flames, and the first piece of parchment jumped out of the goblet. It flew into the air, and then floated down into Dumbledore's out-stretched hand.

Albus looked at the parchment, and in a carrying voice said, "The Champion from Durmstrang will be Victor Krum!"

There was a thunderous applause, as many of the Durmstrang students pounded their fists on the table. Victor Krum seemed nonplused by the selection, as he stood up and walked across the Hall to shake Dumbledore's hand. He also took a moment to shake his headmasters hand as well before making his way to the side door. Karkaroff was making a fool of himself as he cheered for his star student, much to the apparent annoyance of Alastor Moody who was giving him a dark look.

Harry smiled a bit to himself at the scene, yet his attention was drawn back to the Goblet, which was spitting flames again. A parchment shot out of the goblet, and drifted softly down into Dumbledore's hand.

"The Champion from Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!" Harry looked over and saw the French student walking up through the tables to shake Dumbledore's hand. Albus said some words to the Beauxbatons champion, and then she too walked through the side door behind the teacher's table.

There was a lesser applause, partially due to the fact that the Durmstrang students were simply clapping this time, and partially due to the fact that not all of the Beauxbatons students seemed happy with the decision. Harry supposed that the decision for Fleur may not have been as much of a given compared to the quidditch prodigy.

Finally, the last champion was to be announced. There was a collective excitement in the air. Harry couldn't help himself either, he was paying very close attention to the Goblet now. The entire room fell silent and the goblet burst into red flames for the final time….

Dumbledore looked down on the parchment that had fallen into his hand. The headmaster added a bit of a dramatic pause, and Harry felt he would need to call Dumbledore out for it during their next meeting. Albus finally read in a loud, clear voice, "The Champion from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is Harry Potter!"

Gryffindor table erupted in cheers, and to a large extent the other houses did too, except for a large contingency of Slytherin. Harry stayed seated for a few moments smiling to himself. _If it's a champion they want, it'll be a champion they get._ He stood, and clasped hands with Neville for a moment, eliciting more cheers from the students at Gryffindor table that could see the exchange. Neville looked excited, and Harry felt it too. The twins were chanting his name loudly while standing on the bench.

Harry turned and looked around the room that was still cheering. He gave them a small wave, and a wink – something that he was sure his dad would have done- and walked up the aisle to the Headmaster who shook his hand with a twinkle in his eye, "Congratulations Harry," he said, in a louder voice so Harry could hear over the applause, "you'll be fantastic, of that I am certain."

"Thank you sir." Harry walked past the headmaster, and shook hands with McGonagall, who looked proudly at him. Harry winked at Hagrid who was beaming from ear to ear "I knew it 'Arry! I knew you would get it!". Harry finally made eye contact with Remus who gave him a thumbs up before Harry walked through the side door to the chamber.

He walked down the stairs towards the glowing fire in the far wall of the room. Krum and Delacour were both looking at the fire, but they had turned when the door opened.

Fleur gave him a small smile, while Krum remarked flatly, "vell, that was to be expected", as Harry approached the chairs around the fire.

"Likewise. It will be fun to compete against you two," Harry said honestly.

"Eet will be fun to beat you." Fleur said, still looking at him.

Harry laughed, which helped release some pent-up tension from the selection, and even Krum cracked a small smile, "We'll see about that Ms. Delacour." Harry said.

Harry sighed, as he came down from the moment. He brushed a hand through his messy hair, and looked at the fire. His momentary extrovertedness felt like it was coming to an end. Just as Harry was about to wonder how long it would be the door opened and the precession of professors and judges made their way into the room.

"Congratulations to all of you" Dumbledore said in his trademark grandfatherly voice as he reached the light from the fire. Karkaroff and Madame Maxime both walked over to their champions, as McGonagall and the rest of the judges looked on. Ludo Bagman seemed excited, but then again he always looked like he had about ten cups of coffee.

"Now, the first task will take place on the 24th of November, and we will not be telling you what you will be facing. This task is about testing your ingenuity in the face of adversity. You will be tested on both your courage, and quick thinking."

"You are not permitted to accept assistance from teachers, and you will only be allowed your wand for this task. As you can imagine these tasks will take much of your time, and as such you are exempt from the normal examination period. Harry, I know you have your NEWTs, but you will take them some time over the summer, so as to provide you with ample time to prepare. I am assured that these same exemptions are available for both yourself and Mr. Krum" Dumbledore said, addressing Fleur.

"Now, unless there is anything else that I have missed?" Dumbledore asked Bartemius Crouch, who's face looked drawn as he stood just outside of the shadow of the fire.

"Just that you will receive information about the second task following the first."

"Ah yes, indeed. Thank you Bartemius. So, if that will do, I bid you all good night."

"Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, you are welcome to join us for a nightcap in my office if you would like?" Dumbledore asked, indicating to himself and the other judges and professors.

"Certainly" Karkaroff said, looking at Krum to make sure he would be okay getting back to the ship.

"I would be honored Dumbly-dorr". Maxime said, giving Fleur's shoulder a light squeeze.

"Well, I believe it might be best for the rest of you to find your classmates, and then head to bed" Dumbledore said.

Dumbledore then looked at Harry, "I would assume your housemates are waiting to celebrate with you."

"Not too late Mr. Potter." McGonagall added, giving him a stern look.

Harry chuckled a bit, "Yes professor, I certainly have control over the twins."

The Professors and judges led the way out back into the Great Hall, and they all moved in the direction of the headmaster's office. Krum went off to some of his friends who were still lingering around the Hall, and only grunted a goodbye.

Harry noticed two girls from Beauxbatons waiting by the entrance hall door.

"Your friends I suppose?" Harry asked in French.

"Oui," She responded, smiling at him. "They're kind enough to wait for me."

She looked around, but there weren't any Hogwarts students waiting for him.

"Well, I hope you have a nice evening Ms. Delacour. Like I said earlier, it is a honor to be competing against you, and I wish you the best of luck." He finished, with a smile, and he turned to walk back towards Gryffindor tower.

"'Arry?" She asked, and Harry turned back to her quirking an eyebrow, "good luck to you too."

Harry smiled and started making his way back towards Gryffindor tower while Fleur walked across the entrance hall towards her friends. They both were looking at Harry, but they turned their attention to Fleur as she approached.

Harry approached the portrait of the Fat Lady, who was with her friend who had probably already told her that Harry was the champion. "Balderdash" he said, and the portrait opened to cheers once they saw it was Harry.

Harry was dragged into the foray, and was handed a bottle of butterbeer, which he gladly drank deeply from. The twins let off some small fireworks to the chants of Gryffindor. Harry apologized to Angelina who had also submitted her name for the Goblet, but she said she was just happy it was Gryffindor. The twins said it was inevitable from the beginning, but Harry wasn't so sure.

The festivities went on for some time longer, but thankfully not too late. Harry wasn't totally in the mood for a party, but he humored them anyways.

The next few days moved by quickly enough, and soon it was mid-week once again. It was not all sunshine and rainbows around Hogwarts though. Many of the Slytherin students were not at all happy that a Gryffindor, especially Harry Potter became champion of Hogwarts. Although Harry had many well-wishers, it was nearly always matched with those hissing to him in the corridors, or calling him a filthy half-blood. Harry found that one particularly amusing, considering Tom Riddle was a half-blood!

Overall though, besides the random Hufflepuff giving him a weird look, no doubt because they had wanted Cedric to become the champion, the majority of Hogwarts took it in stride.

Harry had just exited a rather difficult potions class. His veritaserum potion was just over halfway done, but this was also the time in which it required the most work. Harry had spent the entire class furiously cutting and mincing this ingredient and that ingredient to make sure that each piece for the potion was delivered precisely on time to the cauldron.

He wiped sweat off his forehead as he left the dungeon chamber, and slowly began walking up to the Great Hall for lunch when a young Hufflepuff student caught up with him. "Excuse me, Mr. Potter?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah, is there something I can help you with?" Harry asked.

The girl handed him a note. "This is for you, and I am supposed to bring you to the Weighing of the Wands?" She asked in the form of a question.

"I suppose," Harry said shrugging, "Lead the way." Indicating with his hand for her to show him where to go, he looked down at the invitation for the Weighing of the Wands, and he pocketed it.

"I wanted Cedric Diggory to be the champion." She said matter of factly as she led him through the corridors. "He's always been really nice to me. He helped me with my homework last year, and he's kind to all the younger students."

"I see, well I think Cedric would have been a great champion." Harry said, smiling a bit at the young girl. "He's a good Head Boy too."

"Yeah, and he beat you in Quidditch."

"That's also true."

"So I don't understand why the Goblet choose you. It should be Cedric." She said, looking at him like he was some sort of nuisance.

Harry couldn't hold back his smile. "Well you could lodge an official complaint?" He asked.

"Come on, you know I can't do that, you're bound to compete now. That's what Professor Dumbledore said."

"Well then I think you might be stuck with me."

She turned and came to a stop at a door. "Well, just don't lose, okay? We're supposed to win. Cedric would win."

"What's your name?" He asked, with his hand on the doorknob.

"Laura, Laura Underhill." She said.

"Well Laura, I'll try my best, I promise." Harry said, smiling at the girl before walking into the room.

Harry entered the small classroom and looked around. Karkaroff and Krum were standing in the corner surveying the room, while Fleur was talking with Madame Maxime. Dumbledore was already there as well in a deep discussion with Olivander. Finally, Ludo and the press were there as well, including none other than Rita Skeeter. She gave him a hungry smile, and Harry did his best to ignore the flashing of the cameras as he walked over to Dumbledore and Olivander.

"Ah, Harry, you're here. Now we may begin." Dumbledore said, stepping back from the teacher's desk and taking a seat at in one of the student's chairs.

Harry never quite understood the reason behind the history of the Weighing of the Wands, but he supposed it was a part of the tradition of the tournament, and wizards were nothing but traditional.

Olivander admired both Fleur and Victor's wands before Harry finally was next. Harry walked up to Olivander and handed him his phoenix feather wand.

"Ah, excellent condition, you take great care of this I see." Harry nodded, and Olivander continued to examine the wand. In the end, Olivander took much more time with Harry's than the others, most likely because he had actually made his wand. Yet, after some time Olivander shot wine from the tip of the wand, and vanished it before it hit the floor. "Excellent Mr. Potter, remember what I said to you on the day you purchased this wand?" He asked, looking directly at Harry.

"Of course, Sir."

"Do well to remember it." He smiled at Harry, and handed his wand back. Olivander then stood up and addressed Dumbledore. "Well, it seems my work here is done. I have had the great pleasure to examine some fine wand making. All of the champion's wands are in good condition, and they are ready for the tasks ahead." He turned to the rest of the room. "To all of you I wish the very best of luck." He nodded again at Dumbledore and walked out of the room.

The press then took charge of the room, and put the three champions through a multitude of picture poses, with Fleur being the center of attention on the part of the photographer. Rita Skeeter attempted to get Harry to walk to the other side of the room to conduct a private interview, but Harry knew it was best to simply stay in the center of attention and answer all the questions posed to him.

"Mr. Potter, how are you feeling going into the first task? Nervous? Scared? Excited?" Asked a male reporter.

"I'm merely looking forward to the competition. I wouldn't say I am scared or nervous, in fact I feel quite relaxed. I am ready for whatever comes our way. I am sure the committee will have some well thought out tasks planned for us." Harry replied.

"And how do you feel about your fellow competitors?" Another asked.

"Well, both Mr. Krum and Ms. Delacour are both incredibly talented individuals, or else they would not have been chosen by the Goblet. To me, it's an honor to be able to be on the same podium as these two. I have no doubt all three of us will be competing hard to win." He said, looking over at Fleur and Victor. The other reporters started asking them questions as well before Rita finally got her questions in.

"So, Harry, how do you think your parents would feel that you have entered such a dangerous tournament? Frightened? Upset?"

"Well I would hope they would be proud of me. But I would also like to point out that the Ministry has gone to great lengths to make this as safe of a tournament as possible and it's also important to point out the lengths to which they have gone to do so." Harry thought it was best to avoid talking about his parents, and instead throw the Ministry a bone.

"And," she said before any of the reports could get a word in "do you feel that the danger you have faced before, the trauma you have experienced, and your clear desire to make your own legacy made you decide to enter this tournament?"

Harry tried not to smile. "Well Ms. Skeeter I would say that there is certainly a desire to build my own legacy, no doubt about that. I believe that we, as humans, are a product of our own experiences, and so in many ways in my life experiences I am used to a certain level of risk or stimulation. I feel that way whether I am facing down an enemy, or playing seeker for the house team. I assume Mr. Krum can relate to that experience specifically, although on a much grander scale." Harry looked over at Krum, and then looked at Fleur, "I assume that Ms. Delacour can also relate to that experience in her own way. All three of us are up here because the Goblet chose us. All three of us have faced some level of adversity, and there is no doubt that all three of us are attempting to build or own legacy…. I hope that answers your question." Harry finished.

"How very humble of you Mr. Potter" She said with a hint of a wicked grin.

"I wouldn't say it's humble. I believe it's just a fact. We're all here for a reason. We were all chosen over other talented, and intelligent witches and wizards. There's clearly something in all of us that sets us apart, and I assume these tasks will bring prominence to those differences."

The rest of the interviews went by easily enough. The majority of the questions started going to Fleur and Victor, and so Harry could relax a bit. Finally, after some time they were allowed to leave. "Mr. Potter, are you sure I cannot get a private interview?"

Harry looked back at Rita who was smiling at him. "I'm sorry Ms. Skeeter, I have a lot of respect for the Daily Prophet, but I believe that's enough for one day. Goodbye."

Harry walked out, and followed the precession down to the Great Hall. Krum was with Karkaroff, and Fleur with Madam Maxime. Harry soon fell into step with Albus.

"You handled that very well Harry. Better than I would have expected. I am sure the Ministry will be happy to see that quote in the paper." Dumbledore said as they walked side by side through the corridor.

"Well sir, those are the types of moments when you think to yourself, what would Dumbledore do?" Harry said, which got a chuckle out of the headmaster.

"Well it will certainly earn you some good will." He said.

Harry shrugged. "It'll be useful in the future, and cost almost nothing."

"Indeed, sometimes building that bridge can be helpful in the future. I believe it was the right decision."

"Are we going to have a lesson soon, sir?" Harry asked as they approached the Great Hall.

"Hmm, I believe so Harry. It might be time that we go on another one of our adventures." Dumbledore said, with a smile.

Dumbledore walked up with the rest of the professors to the head table, and Harry joined Neville at Gryffindor table. He watched as Fleur sat with her friends at Ravenclaw table, and then turned to Neville. "So, we're going to meet up something this upcoming week and I'll teach you some spells alright?"

"Are you sure Harry? I understand if you won't have time being the Champion."

"Nonsense, I'll make time. It'll work out just fine."

They ate dinner, and Harry humored Neville with discussing all of the possible creatures he could face in the upcoming tasks. It was nice to just relax and unwind. It's what he appreciated most about Neville. Sure, he got caught up with the fact that Harry was the Boy Who Lived, but in the end Neville was just a _nice_ person. Harry could never have imagined living Neville's life. It was exceptionally difficult. At first he might have pitied him, but now Harry had come to respect Neville, and felt grateful for his disposition.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day was Sunday, and it was also the first Hogsmeade visit. Nearly all of the students rushed through their breakfast to get in line for Filch to clear them to visit the small town.

Harry walked up the line and noticed that Daphne was milling about at the end of the precession, so he stepped in line after her. To anyone looking it would be just seem like he was in line behind her, but this gave them an opportunity to talk.

"So much for remembering to stay out of the limelight Potter", she said, while facing forward. Harry could see out the door that the Durmstrang students and Beauxbatons students were all already walking down the path towards Hogsmeade with the first round of Hogwarts students who had made it through the check.

"Well it's like you said, I'm the Golden Boy, and so I've got to give them something to cheer about." He said quietly, so as no one could over hear. Harry ran his hand through his hair as he approached Filch.

"Potter, humph, I suppose since you of legal age now." Filch said, giving him a hard look. Filch always thought Harry was somehow smuggling things to and from Hogwarts. Yet, Harry thought, it was probably like that for everyone.

Finally he was out the door, and walking down the path towards Hogsmeade. Once they were separated from the rest of the Hogwarts crowds, Daphne began speaking to him again. "So, how do you think the first task will go?" She asked, looking over at him as they walked through the grass.

"Who knows. They said we aren't supposed to know what the first task is until the same day so-"

"Well you can bet that Fleur and Krum will know ahead of time. People have always cheated in the Triwizard Tournament, it's tradition." She pointed out.

Harry had heard the same thing, but at the same time he felt strange about possibly cheating. It was only fair if either none of them knew, or they all knew. Daphne and Harry walked the rest of the way to Hogsmeade, and they passed the time with idle chatter about classes, and exams. They got along well enough, but as they approached the town, they decided to split up. Daphne did not want to be seen with Harry, and he understood that it would bring unwanted attention to her. Yet, right before they could se, Harry heard something buzzing in the air.

Instinctively, like he was catching a snitch he grabbed a beetle out of mid-air and stared at it. Daphne looked over his shoulder at the beetle. It looked strangely familiar, and then he saw it: The outline of glasses on the beetles face. Harry pulled out his wand and executed the spell, and as to confirm his suspicion, the woman, the myth, the legend, Rita Skeeter stood in front of him looking absolutely horrified.

"Well, well, well if it isn't Rita Skeeter herself. That's one hell of a way to get a take." Harry said smiling.

"Harry!" She said in a fake sweet tone. "How are you my dear? Care to comment on the fact that you're with the Slytherin Ice Queen?"

"Oh were just fine, aren't we Daphne?" Harry asked ignoring the second part of her question.

"Very well indeed Harry." Daphne said looking at Rita as if she had just been handed a sack of galleons.

"Aha, well…" She said, taking an involuntary step backwards from the two students.

"I don't know Daphne, what do you think we should do?" He asked, in a mocking tone. "An unregistered animagus flying around Hogwarts getting stories and quotes from unsuspecting individuals, how interesting."

"Indeed, now I can understand how she got all those quotes for that story she wrote about my family a few months ago. Spent any time around Greengrass Estates recently?"

"Now Harry," She said ignoring Daphne's remarks, "You, you don't want to get me in trouble now do you? You wouldn't send an innocent person to prison just for a bit of unregistered magic would you? You're supposed to be the hero of this story."

Harry thought it would be best not to mention the fact that he too was also an unregisted animagus like his father before him, but this was an opportunity like nothing else.

"Well, what do you think Daphne?" Harry asked, still watching Skeeter closely.

"I'd send her to Azkaban." She said, with a bit of venom in her voice.

"Hmm, a fair thought, but maybe she might be more useful to us if she was in our pocket, no?"

Daphne looked from Harry to Rita, and then a smile spread across her face. "You're right Potter, I could think of a few stories she could write for us."

Rita looked frightened, but the concept of avoiding serious jail time was probably more appealing. "I'll… I mean….Yes, of course I'll do whatever you ask, but… well."

"How about this Rita." Harry said, his mind finally made up. "You can keep doing your job, and Daphne and I won't turn you in to the Ministry. But, both Daphne and I will need you to avoid specific topics in future articles. Let's just assume you can filter yourself on that end. If you can do that, and both Daphne and I can provide you with insider takes, then I see no reason as to why you can't continue doing your job-"

"Also," Daphne added "You will forward us any interesting things you might pick up that would endanger us in any way."

Harry nodded. "So what do you think Rita, are you capable of this? Or should I speak to the Ministry?"

Rita looked severely conflicted, but eventually relented, "Yes, yes. Of course. I'll do whatever you ask."

"Excellent, then we will be in touch. I hope you have a good rest of your day Rita." Harry said. Daphne and Harry left Rita standing on the grassy hill, and they walked the rest of the way towards Hogsmeade talking about possible ways they could exploit their new asset.

Daphne decided to walk towards the other supply shops, while Harry made his way to the Three Broomsticks. He walked through the old door, and saw Sirius and Remus sitting at a table. There was also a large tankard at one of the vacant seats which suggesting that Hagrid was with them also. Harry gave them a wave and moved through the room over to them. He took the last seat and Rosmerta came by to ask for his order. "Mead, please."

"Finally an adult there Harry?" She asked with a kind smile, "Certainly, I'll bring it right over for 'ya".

"Hold up, I need to tell you what just happened to me." Harry said urgently putting a hand up as Remus and Sirius were about to speak. He wanted to tell them what had just transpired before Hagrid came back. He quickly gave an account of what just happened to him on the path to Hogsmeade, and while Sirius looked shocked, Remus had a contemplative look on his face. "It makes sense," He said, "It would explain how she's able to get some many quotes and stories".

"Well hopefully this means we will have an asset moving forward. It'll be an important decision in the long run. If Voldemort is able to get his body back and reestablish his control, he won't get rid of the Daily Prophet. As long as we don't put Rita in danger, she will be important in the long run." Harry said as Hagrid returned.

Harry said hello to Hagrid, and then turned to the individuals at the table. "So, how's it going?"

"How's it going?" Sirius said, with barely constrained excitement when the topic finally changed from the discussion on Ms. Skeeter. "How's it going? My Godson is the bloody Hogwarts Champion!" He nearly yelled. Many people turned around at the commotion, but they returned to their drinks soon enough.

Harry couldn't help but smile as Rosmerta dropped the mead off in front of him.

"Cheers." Remus said lifting his glass to the center of the table, "To Harry."

"To 'Arry," "To Harry" Sirius and Hagrid said in unison. Harry thanked them, although he hadn't done anything yet, it was exciting to at least be in the tournament.

They enjoyed a few cups of mead together, and soon Remus, Sirius, and Hagrid were swapping stories about the old days back in Hogwarts. Just about two hours later they were on mead number three and four, and Hagrid was starting to get a little tipsy.

"So," Sirius said as he returned to the table after hitting on Rosmerta. "So," he said again, waggling his eyebrows at the table. "What do you think the first task will be?"

"I'm not sure." Harry said honestly. They seem really tight lipped about the whole manner-"

"Ahh, "Arry, it's going to be a tough one," Hagrid said, swaying a bit in his chair. "They 'ave me clearing the space in the woods for em."

"For what?" Harry asked, before he could think about what Hagrid was about to say.

"Dragons, "Arry." Hagrid said, taking a swig from his tankard, his put it back on the table. "Dragons. Three of 'em."

"Hagrid!" Remus exclaimed.

"Oh no, no, no! I should not 'ave said that, I should not 'ave said that." Hagrid said, looking scandalized.

Harry heard a scraping of a chair behind him, and turned to see a Durmstrang student leaving the bar quickly. _Shit._ Harry thought. Well, it looks like the cat is out of the bag on that one.

"Well, I suppose that was inevitable at some point." Harry said, turning back around in his chair and taking another sip of mead.

Hagrid looked distraught while Sirius and Remus were looking at Harry warily.

"Dragons, Harry?" Sirius asked.

"Well it had to be something challenging, I assume we just have to get past them or something. I doubt we will actually have to defeat or subdue one. That would be exceedingly difficult."

Hagrid had stopped talking, apparently he didn't want to say anything more. He just kept drinking from his tankard and looked sad.

"Oh, it's alright Hagrid, I was bound to find out sooner or later." Harry said.

"Yeah, but I wasn' suppos' to tell yer 'Arry." Hagrid said. "But I didn' want you ter get hurt neither."

"That's alright, it's better to know at this point." Harry said. "So what do you think Sirius? What should I do to take down the Dragon?"

"You could use the conjunctivitis curse" Sirius said, and Remus nodded his head. "That could give you the time you need."

"I bet that's what Krum or Fleur will use." Harry said, mostly to himself. "I think I have a way that will work, but I might need to do some research."

Remus finished his drink and then stood. "Well, either way I think it's best if we head back to the castle. We don't want to be too late, or else Filch will be upset."

"Ah he's easy to deal with," Sirius said, still looking slightly tipsy as he stood up from the table.

"Says the guy who lost the map to Filch in our 7th year" Remus pointed out, as they exited the bar.

When they walked outside, Harry looked up the street and saw none other than Charlie Weasley, with a few other people Harry didn't recognize walking towards the Hogshead. _Well, I suppose that confirms it._

Sirius decided to go back to Potter Manor, while Remus, Hagrid, and Harry decided to walk up to the castle to have some dinner. After a quick goodbye, the three of them walked up the path towards the castle.

After dinner Harry thankfully had Prefect rounds. It was the perfect time to go check on that 'area in the Forbidden Forest' that Hagrid had alluded to. Harry grabbed his cloak. the Marauders Map, and his cigarettes. He wandered out of the portrait hole, and out into the mostly deserted corridors. The Map provided him with an easy way to watch the halls without actually doing rounds, and it let him oversee much more of the school than anyone else.

Harry always brought the map on rounds, but on nights like tonight when he actually wasn't exploring new areas of the school it helped ease his conscious. If anything bad were occurring in corridors at night, he would know about it before anyone else.

Harry snuck through one of the many secret passageways that would expedite his trip to the Forest. Once he was free and clear of the castle, and once he reached the tree line, he transformed into his animagus form and began running through the trees. His sense of smell soon put him on the tracks of human traffic through the Forest. It only took him about 10 minutes of following the trail before he senses picked up a new foreign scent.

He transformed back, and took the cloak out of his pocket and threw it over himself. He walked the rest of the way towards the noise of men and women yelling, and the roars of some large creatures. The trees around him lit up in a bright yellow light that emanated from a clearing ahead. He stooped low, and peered around a bush, and his eyes widened. In front of him was three large cages holding massive Dragons, and a bunch of dragon tamers running from cage to cage dealing with small fires.

Harry didn't need to see anymore, it was just to confirm everything he already knew. He turned and through a bush nearby he saw Karkaroff there as well, hiding and taking notes on the scene. Apparently Karkaroff had not seen Harry, but nonetheless Harry tried to walk even more slowly as he put some space between himself and the former Deatheater behind him.

When he felt it was safe he transformed back into his animagus form and ran back to the edge of the tree line. He checked the map, and saw no one nearby the passage entrance, and within a few minutes he was already back in the castle.

It was still before midnight, so Harry was able to steal away a few minutes on a random balcony that was hidden behind an unassuming door. Harry conjured a chair, sat back and looked over the grounds as he smoked a cigarette and followed student's who were out of bed on the Map. Harry probably could have gone and put the students in detention for being out after curfew, but mostly they were just meeting and hooking up in a broom closets. He had seen Montague and Sarah earlier in the week on the map, but that was definitely a scene he wanted to avoid. Thankfully Harry never told Sarah about the cloak and the map. He supposed his capacity to hide things from her didn't contribute positively to the relationship.

Harry sighed, and looked out over the grounds again. He saw the Beauxbatons carriage, and the Durmstrang ship, but the grounds were relatively quiet. After some time watching the map, he felt it was late enough, and no one would notice him going to bed and forgoing his last 15 or so minutes of his shift.

The next day Harry walking down to the Great Hall for lunch after another Defense Against the Dark Arts class where Remus had them working on advanced solid material shielding. He took a short walk over to the courtyard before entering the Great Hall, and many of the students were sitting outside in the relatively warm sunshine.

Harry saw whom he needed to talk to. Standing in the sun was Fleur and her two friends. He adjusted his bag on his shoulder, and walked up to them and said, "Salut, ca va?"

The three girls turned to him, and Fleur smiled at him, "Salut Harry, Oui, je suis bien, et toi?"

"Pas mal." Harry said with a smile, he continued in French to the two other girls, "Hello, my name is Harry, I've seen you here with Fleur before, and you three must be friends, what are your names?"

The brunette girl responded first, "My name is Emma, and this is Alice" she said pointing towards the other blonde girl. They were both attractive girls in their own right, and there was no doubt they would not struggle finding dates for the Yule Ball that would be announced in the coming days.

"Enchanté" Harry said, with a slight bow. The two girls smiled. Harry learned a few things from Sirius when he wasn't acting like an idiot. "It is an absolute pleasure to meet you, but would it be alright if I talk to Fleur for a moment regarding the Tournament?"

The two girls looked at Fleur, and nodded at him. "Thank you so much."

Harry led Fleur a few paces away from the two girls so that they wouldn't be overheard.

She looked a bit miffed as to why Harry needed to speak with her, but she played along.

"The first task is going to be dragons." Harry said, looking at her in the eyes.

She looked at him surprisingly, "Really, Harry? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I saw them myself last night in the forest, and so did Karkaroff." Harry said. He felt it was best to avoid the fact that Hagrid had nearly announced it to the entire bar, and that's how Karkaroff had found out, but it wasn't pertinent.

Fleur gave him a look, as if he was lying to him. "Why are you telling me this, Harry?"

Harry paused. He had thought about it last night, but now in the daylight it seemed a bit weird to be giving away information for free. "It's just a game Fleur… and I suppose it's fair if we all know." Harry also didn't want to admit that part of him just wanted to warn her, but he knew that would be best to keep to himself.

She looked distracted for a moment as she processed the information, and then she looked up at him. "Thank you 'Arry." She said with honesty.

Harry smiled, "Of course… good luck, I'm looking forward to see how you deal with the task." He said, and added, "I suppose I'll see you later then."

She smiled and said, "Yeah, thank you again. I was impressed on how you handled the press at the Weighing of the Wands, my parents were too. You were very kind."

"Oh well," Harry shifted a bit, looked over to the rest of the courtyard full of students milling around, and ran his hand through his messy hair, "I don't know… thank you."

Her smile grew as he struggled to handle the compliment, "I'll see you around 'Arry." She said in English.

"Yeah, alright, I'll see you." Harry said as he started walking back towards the Great Hall. He waved goodbye to Emma and Alice and went off to grab some lunch before his afternoon Herbology class.

Later that evening Harry was pouring over all the texts he could find in the library on Dragons. He was one of a few students in the library including Hermione Granger- the Gryffindor who had lent him a piece of parchment for the Goblet- and none other than Viktor Krum.

He was even checking some of the books in the restricted section, and found some promising titles like _The Most Dangerous Magical Creatures and How to Tame Them,_ and _How to Harvest a Dragon,_ the second of which was a brutal read on how to maximize the value of a dead Dragon carcass, but provided some incite on its weaknesses. He found himself having to share some of the books with Viktor. They both chuckled a bit when Viktor had first come over to borrow a specific title that Prince had told him Harry was currently looking at, but after a fashion they were both openly sharing books of interest.

After looking through nearly 30 titles on dragons Harry continuously came to the same conclusion. He needed to exploit the dragon's weaknesses, which may be hidden in its greatest strengths. Harry was still formulating a plan by the time Prince came around to kick him out, but he felt relatively confident.

On the day before the first task Harry skipped most of his classes to spend time in the library, but when the evening came he caught up with Neville after dinner. "Hey, Neville, I wanted to see if you would be interested in having that lesson I promised you."

Neville looked surprised. "Really Harry? I thought you would be preparing for the task?"

Harry shrugged, "Ah well, I've done all I can and I think it's best if I take my mind of it for a while. What do you say we go into the classroom over here and get started?"

Neville looked excited at the prospect, "Yeah Harry! That would be awesome."

Harry led them into the large classroom, and saw that it was deserted. He lit candles throughout the room, cleared desks to the corners, and in just a few minutes they had a functioning, well lit work area. "This'll work great." Harry said. "So, Neville. Tell me, what do you want to do when you finish at Hogwarts?"

Neville looked flustered at the question, "Well, uh I dunno. I suppose I can work in Herbology, I'm good at that." Harry nodded encouragingly, and so Neville continued, "but I think if I was smart enough or strong enough I might want to be a Auror like my parents."

"I see," Harry said, walking around the open space in the classroom, "well from what Sirius and Remus say your parents were excellent aurors, some of the best in the department. All you would need to do is take the same classes as me, and as long as you do well enough on your OWLs and NEWTs, I bet you will get into the program."

"Yeah," Neville looked at the ground "I dunno, my gran says I wouldn't make it."

"That's nonsense, of course you can make it. You just need confidence and work ethic, and from what I here you're the best Herbology student we've got. That tells me enough right there that you have what it takes to apply that effort to other classes."

Neville shrugged, but looked somewhat pleased with himself.

"How about this, let's start with some basics, and then as we have more courses you can build on them." Harry said, walking into the middle of the empty space of the classroom. "Try to disarm me."

Neville looked scared, but he pulled his wand out of his robes anyways.

"Come on, let's see it."

Neville somewhat shakily pointed his wand at Harry and said, "Expelliarmus!" Nothing happened.

"That's alright, try again, just relax and let the magic flow through you."

It took Neville a couple of more tries, but finally after a fourth failed attempt he was successful. There was a spark of white light, and Harry felt the wand in his hand jerk, but he was just able to hold on.

"Excellent Neville, keep going." Harry said.

After a few more small sparks, he finally got a real disarming spell off and Harry's wand flew out of his hand and across the room.

"Very good Neville, we will keep working on it, and soon you will be able to get it so that my wand comes to you instead of some random area around us."

Harry summoned his wand back wandlessly, and Neville's eyes grew wide. "Woah, Harry, how did you do that?"

Harry smiled. "In due time Neville, in due time. Now let me show you what I mean."

Harry turned his wand on Neville, who suddenly looked scared again. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Harry said, and swiftly disarmed Neville and caught his wand as it flew back to him. "See? That's where you need to be when it comes to the disarming spell. Getting it to bring you your enemy's wand is ideal. Lets try again."

Harry wandlessly floated Neville's wand back to him and Neville tried again. They worked on it for about a half hour, and Neville was making real progress when the door suddenly opened.

Fleur, Emma, and Alice were all standing in the doorway. They looked surprised to see a young Hogwarts student with his wand pointed at the Hogwarts champion.

"Uhh. Hi." Harry said brightly.

Fleur looked perplexed but regained her composure, "Hello 'Arry, are we interrupting somezing?" she asked in English, looking between Neville and Harry who had both lowered their wands and relaxed their positions.

"Uh, no. Actually Neville and I were just practicing some dueling." Harry said, putting his wand in his pocket.

"Why?" Emma asked, "You won't need that for zee first task."

"Well-"

Harry was cut off by Neville who said, "Harry was helping me learn some spells so I can defend myself next time."

"Next time?" Alice asked looking at Neville.

"Err, yeah. Some Slytherin's got my pretty good a few weeks ago, so Harry said he would help." Neville said, looking at Harry, who just shrugged.

"Well, we can leave, we were told ze room was free" Fleur said, but Harry held up a hand as they started to turn.

"That won't be necessary, Neville and I were just about done, so it's alright, you can have the room."

Emma smiled, and in a kind voice said "Well Neville, why don't you show us what you're working on?"

Neville looked flustered, and was most certainly blushing quite hard, but it was good practice to do it with some real pressure.

Harry smiled. "Come on Neville, you just got me 10 times in a row it'll be good to practice in front of an audience." The girls moved into the room and closed the door, Emma sat on a desk, while Alice and Fleur stood by to watch.

They offered some words of encouragement for Neville, and he looked steadily at Harry with his wand raised. Harry matched his pose and said, "You've got this."

Neville concentrated, and then said "Expelliarmus!" in a loud and clear voice.

Harry's wand jerked out of his hand, flew across the room, and landed perfectly in Neville's outstretched hand. Harry gave him a wide smile and lifted his arms a bit to the sides as if to say, 'I told you so'.

Neville looked astonishingly at Harry's wand in his hand, and turned bright red as the French students clapped enthusiastically at the display.

"Excellent Neville, that was the best one so far." Harry reached out his arm, and his wand flew back into his hand. The three French girls looked surprised at his wandless magic, but didn't say anything.

Alice and Emma walked up to Neville to introduce themselves to him, while Fleur walked over to Harry, and looked up at him, "Shouldn't you be practicing for the task tomorrow?" she asked in French with a quirk of an eyebrow.

Harry looked over towards the girls and Neville, and shrugged. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be," He responded in French, matching her low tone, "I just thought it would be good to give my mind a rest for the evening. That, and I thought it would be a nice idea to help a friend out."

He looked at her, and she smiled in a bit of a conspiratorial way. "I didn't know you had anyone Arry. From what I hear you're usually alone." She continued in that low voice.

"I suppose that's true. I prefer being by myself." He said, honestly.

"And why is that?" She asked.

Harry put his hand through his hair. He felt butterflies flow through him, and said "Maybe that's a discussion for another time," taking his gaze off of Neville and the two girls, and looked directly at Fleur who was staring up at him.

They continued to look at each other for a few moments, and then Harry turned to Neville and the two other girls who were still talking.

"I believe that's enough for tonight Neville," Harry said in English, "we shall give them the room so Ms. Delacour here can prepare for the task tomorrow."

Neville smiled at the two girls, and they made their way to the door.

Harry couldn't help himself as he was leaving, and glanced back just as he was closing the door to see Fleur still looking at him.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing. J.K. Rowling owns all the things.

JK Rowling owns me. Emma Watson owns me. A girl I had to walk away from in 2014 owns me. Intellectual, and emotionally literate women own me. I'm screwed.

A/N: Sorry for the late update. I was in the Ukraine, and then my parents were visiting for two weeks. Thus the slow updates. I am still super involved in this story, and I will hopefully update quicker in the future. I usually write in the few hours before I go to bed, and then find some time during the weekend to edit/fill in spots.

I wanted to thank everyone that has liked/followed this fic. I also want to especially thank all of you who have taken a moment to review. It's fun to read your thoughts on the story, along with you comments/criticisms, and encouragement. I totally fan-boy'd when durararaaa reviewed: They wrote one of the best Harry/Fleur fics out there, and if you like H/F, their story is a must-read.

You can skip this next part if you just want the next chapter, and you don't want any (very very mild) story spoilers, but I wanted to address a few things:

I've received a lot of comments about Daphne, and I wanted to address this specific topic. I apologize if she doesn't seem authentic yet, but I believe that she has a big role to play moving forward. I have zero intention of this being anything more than a Harry/Fleur fic, because I find Fleur to be one of the most interesting characters in Canon. I thought her and Bill's relationship in Canon was lovely, and I wanted to build that sort of relationship with Harry (eventually).

I have never been a fan of Harry Potter/ multi fics. So if anyone wanted a H/D/F fic, I will unfortunately be letting you down in that department. YET, if you like Daphne (not like she had a role in Canon), or are a general fan of Slytherin redemption fics, then I hope to do you justice. I think Slytherin got the short end of the stick in Canon (especially pure-blood Slytherin's), so although I don't want to spoil anything story-wise: stay tuned!

Anyways, enough of my ranting about stuff, lets get to that first task!

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Harry woke up on the day of the first task well before anyone in his dorm. He changed quietly, and walked out of Gryffindor tower towards the door that hid the small balcony overlooking the grounds. He conjured a chair, and lit a cigarette while surveying the forest. Harry could see the enclosure where he would go face to face with one of the three dragons later in the afternoon.

He felt confident that he would be able to get past the dragon, although he was a bit unsure exactly what they needed him to do. He knew they wouldn't ask him to kill the dragon, so true violence was far from his mind, but if he was asked to subdue it then his plan might have to be adjusted. It all came down to the exact wording on the process, and his ability to hide some of his more powerful spellwork he had been researching. He doubted that Fleur of Krum were worried about the magic they would be using, but Harry had a feeling that whatever he did, Voldemort would eventually learn about it.

Harry watched the sun rise until it was an appropriate time to go down for breakfast. He walked through the deserted hallways, and was one of the first students in the Great Hall. He waved to Hagrid and Remus who were sitting next to each other at the head table, and he sat down at Gryffindor's table and poured himself a cup of coffee.

Soon more and more students from the three schools filed into the Hall, and there was clear excitement in the air. Harry had been focusing thoroughly on his coffee, but with the growing clamor of the student body, and their discussion on the first task, Harry couldn't ignore them any longer.

Herbology went by quickly enough, and soon it was lunchtime. The students were given the rest of the day off so that they could go down and watch the spectacle, and by the time Harry had finished his sandwich, McGonagall was already walking down from the Head table towards him.

"Come on Potter, I am to take you down to the venue, and it's best if you are not late." She said stiffly.

Harry smiled to himself, and stood from the table. Everyone was looking at him and McGonagall, but Harry felt quite relaxed. He was ready to face this challenge.

McGonagall led him through the hall, out of the entrance, and into the grounds. She looked apprehensive as they walked through the grass towards the forest. It was a clear day, not too cold for a late-autumn day in Scotland. "How do you feel Potter? Are you prepared?"

Harry shrugged, as she looked him over. "I am fine. I'm as ready as I'll ever be." He said honestly.

"Well you know the key is to just think on your feet, and trust your instincts."

"I know professor," Harry said reassuringly, "You've taught me well. I'll manage whatever comes my way. "

"Humph" She seemed unconvinced. They approached the tent and she faced him with a stern look. "Well, I have no doubt that will make Gryffindor proud either way, Potter."

"I'll try my best Professor."

McGonagall nodded, and then put a hand on his shoulder for a moment and said, "Good luck, Harry", before walking away towards the stands. Harry shook his head while still smiling and walked into the tent. Fleur and Krum were already in the tent, both of which were sitting down on small stools, and looking nervous. Harry nodded to Krum and gave Fleur a small smile. She struggled to return it.

Harry clasped his hands behind his back and looked around the small tent as he waited for whoever it was who was meant to address them. He knew that Krum and Fleur already knew what was to come, so he felt about as relaxed as one could be with the knowledge that they would be facing a dragon within the next thirty minutes or so.

Harry heard the student body moving into the stands around the tent, and Ludo Bagman entered looking around at the three champions. "Well!" He said, looking once again like he was high on something. "What a day for the first task, perfect weather! Perfect conditions indeed!" He said jovially.

"So," he continued when none of the students gave any indication that they heard what he had said. "Here I have a small bag," He said, holding up a silk bag he had just pulled from his pocket, "And you will each in turn reach into the bag and pick the thing that you will face. Your job is to get past the obstacle in whatever manner you see fit, and collect the egg. After you collect the egg, the other judges and I will give you a score. The egg contains your next clue, so do your best to not destroy it!" He added holding a finger in the air while beaming at the three of them.

When none of them replied, he moved on. "Well then, why don't we start with the selection, Ms. Delacour, if you please?" He asked, shaking the bag.

She stood up, and walked across the room gracefully. Although she was clearly nervous, Harry doubted anyone else would have noticed. She still held all the grace of her heritage.

She reached into the bag, and pulled out a miniature Welsh Green dragon. She looked down at the model initially, and then brought it up to her face to get a better look. The small dragon ran around her thin hand, and looked around the room expectantly.

Fleur, without another word, turned, walked back to the stool and sat back down at her seat and continued to stare at the dragon with a look of deep concentration.

Viktor was next, and he pulled out the Chinese Fireball. Krum scowled at the small dragon, and also returned to his seat.

Harry knew what was left. He reached inside the pouch that Bagman was holding out to him, and he pulled out the Hungarian Horntail. Harry wanted the Chinese Fireball due to specificities within his plan, but he knew that with a small adjustment he could still be very successful against the Horntail.

Silence filled the room, and Bagman cleared his throat as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. "Well then, I suppose that will do! I wish you all the best of luck!" Bagman gave Harry a small wink before exiting the tent. Harry assumed Bagman had put big money on him. Remus and Sirius had told him some time ago that Bagman was addicted to gambling, and he was always in some sort of debt.

The three champions sat in contemplative silence as they awaited their fait.

A few minutes later a whistle blew, and Bagman's voice rang out through the stadium and the tent. "Welcome, welcome to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament! Our talented champions will be facing a daring first test this afternoon. They will be attempting to collect the golden egg, guarded by a dragon! The crowd roared, and Harry heard the first dragon being moved into the enclosure. It roared, and the crowd matched it's sound.

"First up, we have the Durmstrang Champion, Viktorrrr Krum!" The crowd roared again, punctuated once again with the dragons roar too. Viktor stood, still scowling, and walked out of the tent and into the enclosure. Now it was just Fleur and Harry. They sat at opposite sides of the tent, and as the sounds of Bagman's voice starting to commentate on Krum's attempt.

Fleur stood suddenly and began pacing the room.

Harry sat back in his chair, put the dragon on the floor, and put his hands behind his head. He sighed satisfyingly, closed his eyes, and smiled at the thought of Sirius and Remus sitting in the crowd waiting for him to go up against the Hungarian Horntail. He was looking forward to their thoughts on how he approached the task.

"What's wrong with you?" Fleur asked in French angrily from somewhere across the tent.

Harry opened his eyes and looked at Fleur as she stood in the center of the tent. She was still holding the model of the dragon, and was glaring at him.

"What?" Harry asked, sitting up and quirking an eyebrow at Fleur.

"How can you be so relaxed? Are you mentally ill or something? Don't you hear the dragon?" She asked in rapid succession, he face flushed pointing to the flap where Krum had left just a few minutes ago.

"Well… I suppose I already have a planned figured out, and it'll work or it won't. There's nothing else I can do, so-" Harry said, but he was cut off when Fleur scoffed.

Fleur turned around while shaking her head and she began pacing again, and not looking at him.

"You'll be fine Fleur." Harry said, watching her pace back and forth, still looking agitated.

"Of course I'll be fine, 'Arry. But normal people might feel a bit nervous going up against a dragon you know?" She said, looking at him again.

"I am nervous. I'd rather _not_ be killed today, but as long as you stick to your plan that I know you've been working on, you will succeed. Of that I am certain."

She scoffed for a second time, and started pacing the room again. A roar, matched with Bagman yelling out suggested that Krum was close. Fleur paused at the noise, and looked at the tent flap, before pacing again. Finally, the crowd roared for a final time signaling that Krum had succeeded in getting his egg.

"And the judges score!" Bagman yelled, but he didn't indicate a specific number.

"Up next we have the Hogwarts Champion, Harry Potter!" Bagman yelled.

Harry stood, and turned to Fleur, who had stopped pacing as was looking at him again. Her face was still flushed, but the agitation her eyes once held were gone.

"You're going to be fine Fleur. Once you get in the ring your instincts will take over and I have no doubt you will succeed."

Before she could respond, he turned and walked out of the tent and into the enclosure. The crowd roared, and it was about an even split between cheers and boos, but that mattered little to Harry. He was already beginning to tune it out. He could see the Hungarian Horntail perched above her eggs.

Harry looked into the eyes of the dragon, and she surveyed her prey. Harry felt it now; goosebumps ran up and down his arms, and his heart started beating faster as he and the dragon continued to stare at each other. Harry tried, and failed to steady his breathing, and he began to sweat slightly. He was prepared, and he knew the dragon wanted him to go on the offensive. That's exactly what he was going to do.

Harry pulled out his wand, and the dragon followed his hand movement intently. Silence filed the arena, and Harry cherished it. _The calm before the almighty storm_ Harry thought to himself, his body arching into an offensive position.

" _Bombarda Maxima!"_ Harry shouted, pointing to an area 10 feet from the dragon's head. The air exploded near the Horntail and the dragon took an immediate step back in surprise, its eyes widening in disorientation. Whatever it was expecting, it wasn't that.

That small moment was all the time Harry needed. His want was already moving again. _Confringo!_ Another huge explosion on the other side of the dragon's head, _Expulso!_ Another explosion behind the dragon made it lung to the side. It was disoriented, and that was all Harry needed.

 _Lumus Maxima!_ Harry then levitated rocks into the air while the dragon was momentarily blinded and then _Confringo! Expulso!, Geminio! Baubillius!_ Harry's wand moved in quick succession as a huge flash of light, followed by more explosions, followed by duplications of the explosions, and white lightening reverberated around the enclosure as he blasted the rocks around the dragons head. The noise was nearly unbearable, and he couldn't have imagined what it was like for the sensitive senses of the dragon. On the other hand, the dragon handlers would be able to heal any lasting damage.

Harry aimed for the back leg of the dragon, the one farthest from her perch above the eggs, and thought _levicorpus!_ It wasn't especially effective, but the slight tug mixed with the disorienting explosions of light and sound made the dragon turn around and shoot fire at the far wall, and lose its footing.

With one of its legs still in the air, Harry aimed for the ground beneath its feet and thought _Glisseo!_ The ground smoothed, and the dragon slipped down the side of the rock-formed nest and fell to the ground, rolling onto on its back. Harry, continuing to throw light and explosions around the dragon's head, and then thought _Incarcerous!_ A strong set of ropes jumped out of his wand, and tied the dragon's legs together.

Harry knew they wouldn't hold long, but as long as its sensitive hearing and sight were still disoriented, he might have enough time. He ran forward, and before the dragon could even break away from the ropes as it kicked around, he jumped up onto the nest, grabbed the golden egg, and began running away from it. Unfortunately for Harry, the dragon had recovered slightly, and shot flames at him. Harry, feeling something was amiss, instinctively ducked, and rolled across the rocks, barely avoiding the flames. The heat from the white-hot flames rolled over him.

Dragon tamers ran into the enclosure from all angles, and quickly subdued the Horntail before it could fully recover from the onslaught of spells.

Harry let out some pent up breath and ran his free hand through his hair as he looked up to the crowd. He looked himself over, and only saw a couple of holes in his robes from rolling through the rocks. Most of the crowd was cheering now, and Bagman was still yelling with the sonorous charm, but Harry was still slightly disoriented from the battle.

"And how about that! Mr. Potter with the fastest time yet! An excellent use of the dragon's sensitive hearing and sight! Truly extraordinary!"

Harry looked up at the judge's table, as Bagman said, "And now the judges score."

Dumbledore gave Harry a nine, while Maxime also gave him a nine. Bagman gave Harry a ten, and Crouch gave Harry a ten as well, surprisingly. Karkaroff paused for a moment, and then shot up a 4. Harry rolled his eyes at the score from Karkaroff, but it hardly mattered. He had done it well enough, and he was completely unharmed.

Harry walked over towards the medical tent, and saw Remus and Sirius waiting for him. Sirius gave him a big hug, and even Remus hugged him too.

"That was excellent Harry, very well done." Remus said smiling at him.

"It was bloody brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed nearly pushing Remus out of the way, "fucking Karkaroff gave Krum a ten, and the kid had his egg smashed! Now you two are tied, but you were completely unharmed, and you actually recovered your clue." Sirius said, ignoring the fact that Harry had indeed picked up some scrapes from rolling across the rocks attempting to avoid the flames.

Harry chuckled, "To be honest I don't really care all that much, we're tied, so I'll just have to do better next time." Pomfrey looked him over, and healed the superficial scrapes before allowing him to leave.

Sirius ignored Harry, and continued to berate Karkaroff as Harry walked out of the medical tent area to watch Fleur handle her dragon.

Sirius eventually settled down, and the three of them settled in to watch as the large Welsh Green dragon made its way across the black rocks to the stone nest.

Bagman called out, "And now our final Champion, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons!" There were loud cheers throughout the enclosure, and Fleur walked out into the arena. Harry could see that her face was set in a concentrated look as she surveyed the Welsh Green.

She aimed her wand towards the dragon, and began moving it in an intricate pattern. Harry recognized it immediately as a sort of sleeping charm, and looked on intently. The dragon cocked it head to one side, surveying Fleur, but not reacting to the spell. It took more than a few minutes, but after some time the dragon started swaying slightly, and it's eyes began to droop.

Fleur seized the moment a little sooner than Harry would have expected, and ran forward eagerly to collect the egg. As she ran up the rocky embankment to the small collection of eggs, the dragon seemed to start to come around from the charm.

Harry yelled, "No!" in the semi-quiet arena as she grabbed the egg, and jumped down the embankment. Fleur probably couldn't have heard him, but she turned to see the dragon regain semi-consciousness just in time. The dragon focused on Fleur, and shot flames, which just caught the back of Fleur's robes as she dove out of the way.

She spun away again as the dragon tamers jumped into the enclosure and quickly subdued the dragon before it could do more harm. Fleur put out the flames on her robes, and quickly glanced up at the judge's table. Sirius and Remus were both looking just as startled as Harry felt himself. That was an incredibly close call, and thankfully Fleur had moved just enough out of the way to avoid the majority of the dragon's flames.

Fleur walked over the rocks towards the medical tent, passing Harry Remus and Sirius to allow Madame Pomfrey fussed over the small burns. Despite her minor injures, she had been the slowest, and Harry assumed the judges would feel the same.

Fleur walked away from Pomfrey for a moment to get her scores. She received a 40 overall, which meant she was still very much in the running. The crowd gave a resounding round of applause, and finally the first task had come to an end.

Overall Harry was somewhat satisfied, although his tactics may not have been the most intricate, he felt he had done relatively well. At the end of the day there are only so many ways one can subdue a dragon without inflicting lasting damage to it. Although he could have tried to seriously harm the creature, he felt that momentarily blinding it was the most appropriate way for getting past it.

Harry was soon ushered away from Remus and Sirius back into the Champions tent. Bagman was there once again bouncing on his feet as he surveyed the three champions.

"Excellent, excellent, very well done all of you! So, now you will have a nice long break between now and the next task, which will be held in February. Now, your egg will be your next clue. Mr. Krum unfortunately had half of his egg destroyed so he will operate without the clue." _Like that'll matter_ Harry thought to himself.

"So, I suppose that's all for now. I hope you enjoy your break before the next task." Ludo winked at the Champions, and walked out of the tent.

Harry followed the other champions out of the tent, and unsurprisingly Rita Skeeter was waiting for Harry. She gave him a smile, and Harry paused for a moment and let Krum and Delacour walk ahead of him.

"Any interesting takes, Harry? What made you decide to go with shock and awe?" Rita asked, pulling out her quill.

Harry smiled. "Well my task was to simply get past the dragon and collect the egg, so my thought process revolved around stopping the dragon without harming it in a significant way. That sort of led me to the thought of overwhelming its hearing and sight. It's rather difficult to truly harm a dragon as an individual wizard, but with the element of surprise, and being able to initiate the fight, it is possible to distract them momentarily. So, that, mixed with some well-placed spells got the dragon away from the eggs, which gave me the opportunity to run forward and collect it. Unfortunately the dragon recovered more quickly than I anticipated, and it almost got me at the end, but thankfully I was able to avoid it. It just ended up not being as graceful as I intended." Harry finished.

Rita nodded, as her quill jotted down the quote, "And your thoughts on your scores?"

Harry shrugged. "At the end of the day the scores are at the discretion of the judge. I'm sure you're referring to Karkaroff's score, and at the end of the day it's his decision to make. There's nothing I can really do about it. Had I hoped to score higher? Of course. I want to be in first place; I want to win, but at the end of the day there's still two more tasks, and I believe I can continue to build on what I've started here."

"I know you didn't get a chance to see Viktor handle his dragon, but what are your thoughts on how Ms. Delacour approached the task?" She asked, giving him a look.

"She handled it very well. I was impressed with her ingenuity in facing her dragon, along with her poise in the face of adversity. I would not have thought about charming the dragon in that way, so I was interested to see how it would work out. In the end it was effective, and if it wasn't for dragon getting her at the very last moment I believe she would have deserved full marks. She's talented, there's no question about that. She is an excellent opponent, and I am looking forward to continuing to compete against her and Krum in the future tasks. "

Rita smiled. "Always diplomatic Harry, thank you."

"And thank you Rita." Harry said returning the smile. "Have you discovered anything interesting in your recent adventures?"

"Not in particular Harry, but you know me, I always get my story."

Harry nodded in agreement, "Indeed you do. Keep me posted". He said, before turning to go find Sirius and Remus.

Harry walked up to the castle with Remus and Sirius and although he had a large lunch, he was absolutely famished. They chatted about the task, but Harry was happy it was all said and done. He would leave the analysis to the papers, knowing that whatever was said would make it back to Tom Riddle. He would come across as a diligent student, but he was happy to avoid any truly difficult magic.

Many students and faculty on the walk up to the castle, and during the feast congratulated Harry. Most of the Gryffindor's felt that Karkaroff had been beyond biased, and had many choice words to say about the Durmstrang Headmaster. The twins were especially upset because they had done a small side bet that Harry would win the first task, but they were more invested in his overall victory. Yet, it did little to stop them cursing at Karkaroff so loudly that McGonagall had given them detention during the following week.

Harry on the other hand couldn't have cared less. He was enjoying his dinner, and talking about random topics with Neville.

That night after dinner Dumbledore told the students about the Yule Ball. Most, if not all the students had decided that night that they would stay the extra weekend during the winter holidays to take part in the festivities. The owlry would no doubt be in full use throughout the evening as students sent letters to their families asking to stay for Christmas. Remus and Sirius had been invited to some parties around the magical world, but for the time being Harry was obligated to attend the Yule Ball before going home to Potter Manor, but he planned to go home the next day. He always enjoyed being at home for the Christmas holidays when it was just the three of them, and he was looking forward to a small break from the scrutiny that permeated through Hogwarts when he was within its walls.

The Yule Ball was the talk of the school that evening, and students were no doubt gossiping about whom they would ask out. Harry knew that he would need a date since he was a champion. He also knew whom he wanted to go with, but at the same time, he wasn't sure if she would want to go with him. He also knew he couldn't ask Daphne, because it would put her in a tough spot politically. He acknowledged it was best to deal with the topic sooner rather than later, and promised to himself to come to a conclusion on the topic as quickly as possible.

Dumbledore wished them a goodnight, and Harry was pulled out of his mental ravine to the sound of scraping chairs on the stone floors.

That night Gryffindor tower partied.

Harry was exhausted, and didn't last long, but he made an appearance. He sipped on some firewhiskey the twins had smuggled in through one of their passageways they no doubt thought they were the first to discover, and Harry thanked all the well-wishers.

His hypothesis on the Yule Ball was already coming to fruition. Many girls talked to him before he could excuse himself and get some rest. He had to dodge a few invitations, but otherwise he managed to stall for time without hurting anyone's feelings.

He laid in his bed with the hangings closed with a silencing charm to drown out the music playing in the common room. He thought back to the task, and the large golden egg currently residing in his trunk.

The day's events were beginning to catch up to him, and he eyes felt increasingly heavier. He spent the last few moments of unconsciousness focusing on his Occulomency shields, and finally succumbed to the darkness.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Harry awoke at a reasonable time, and after a hot shower made his way down to the Great Hall for a well-deserved breakfast. Harry walked into the hall, and saw that Neville was sitting alone at Gryffindor table. Harry smiled, and took a seat across from his friend.

"Hey Nev, how's it going?" Harry asked, as he poured himself a cup of coffee, and began filling his plate with food.

"I'm good Harry." Neville said, as he glanced up the table before looking back down at his plate. Harry glanced to see what Neville was looking at, and Harry had the distinct impression Neville had been looking at Ginny Weasley, the girl he had rescued from the Chamber of Secrets two years ago.

"Are you going to asked her to the Ball, Neville? I am sure she will say yes. She's a third year, and you two are friends."

Neville blushed slightly, "Well I heard a Ravenclaw student had planned to ask her, so."

"So, ask her before he does. She will want to go, and you're a good guy Nev."

Neville blushed harder, "Aright… I suppose I can do it after breakfast, yeah?" Neville asked.

"Of course." Harry smiled, as he looked up to see owls flowing into the Hall. Harry spotted Hedwig as she made her way down to him at the table. Hedwig landed with a flourish next to his plate and stuck out her leg. Harry pulled off the letter, and opened it as Hedwig started eating bacon off his place.

 _Harry,_

 _I know I just saw you yesterday, but I wanted to tell you that I received an invitation from the Delacour family to attend their New Years Party in Paris. I suppose they're trying to continue to build better relations as a part of the Triwizard Tournament, so it'll be good for the Potter line and the Black line to officially attend. Why don't you, and Remus come back to the Manor after the Yule Ball as planned, and we can all attend the Party together._

 _Also, I know the lunar cycle is coming back around in a few days so keep an eye on Moony, and we can plan another small gathering._

 _Love you kid, and I'll see you soon._

 _-Sirius_

Harry folded the paper, and looked across the room to Remus, who had also finished his letter. They shared a glance and a nod, and then Harry put the letter in his pocket and took a moment to pet Hedwig.

Neville had also received a letter, and after a few moments he looked up.

"Gran says we're going to a party in France, is that what your letter said too?"

"Yeah, so it'll be nice to know someone there." Harry smiled.

Students were starting to go out of the Hall and towards their classes. "So are you going to go ask her?" Harry reminded Neville, as he was about to go out of the Hall.

Neville blushed again, and said "Yeah, yeah. Alright."

"Good luck!" Harry said over his shoulder as he walked out of the Hall and towards the Transfiguration classroom.

Transfiguration was an interesting affair as they finally reached past the theoretical understanding of human transfiguration. Harry had a root understanding of the topic since he had been an unregistered animagus for some time, but the idea of broadening his knowledge of human transfiguration was intriguing.

By the end of class, Harry had already mastered transfiguring his arms into wings, and he hoped that with more work he would be able to fly without a broom. He was the only one to complete a partial transfiguration though. Most of the other students didn't have the same conviction with their spellwork. Harry assumed it was because the root transfiguration of becoming an animagus allowed him the internal confidence to make the decisive switch to partial, and hopefully someday complete human transfiguration.

At the end of class McGonagall continued to lecture them on the finer details within human transfiguration.

"-Conviction, precision, attention to detail, these are critical to completing even a partial transfiguration. You need to know what is happening to allow your mind to complete the precise piece of magic…" She said passionately.

She paused, and in a more businesslike voice said, "Now, onto lesser topics. As you are quite aware, the Yule Ball will be taking place, and it is important that you know how to dance. I will be holding lessons over the coming weeks, and if you would like to sign up, please let me know. I expect all of you to represent Gryffindor and Hogwarts in a dignified manner…. As for now, I hope you have a good rest of your day and you continue to practice your transfiguration.

"Mr. Potter, a word?" McGonagall asked, as the students began packing their bags and leaving the classroom for lunch.

"Certainly Professor." Harry said, as he put his bag over his shoulder and walked up to her desk.

"You will need a date for the Ball, Potter." She said brusquely as she shuffled papers around her desk. "I personally do not see the need, but it is tradition, so I believe it's best if you get on the topic sooner rather than latter."

"Of course, of course. Will you be traveling to Paris for the New Years Party, Professor?" Harry asked.

McGonagall looked up from her desk. "No, no. I received a nice invitation from the Delacour family, but I believe it's best for me to stay here to look over the students who will be staying here for the holidays."

Harry nodded. "Well if you change your mind I am sure it will be a good party."

McGonagall smiled slightly "We will see Potter, now off you go, it's time for lunch."

Harry smiled, and left the classroom. He headed for the courtyard. He arrived just in time to watch Ron Weasley ask out Fleur, which was no doubt an embarrassing event for the kid.

Harry watched as Ron ran away from Fleur before she could even respond. Harry smiled to himself, and if he was honest he couldn't blame him.

Harry walked up to the three girls, "Salut, ca va?" Harry asked casually, as the three girls looked towards him.

"Hello Harry, oui, ca va, et toi?" Emma said. Alice smiled and responded in kind, while Fleur still looked a bit thrown off by the most recent date request.

"Pas mal. It looks like Ronald Weasley couldn't hold back either?" Harry asked Fleur. He had seen more than a few boys ask her out recently.

"Yes…" Fleur responded, before recovering and finally looking at him "But I told them the truth, my boyfriend is coming from Paris to the Ball."

"Ah I see, well it should be nice to have your boyfriend with you on Christmas." Harry said casually, looking back to Emma and Alice, "And you two? Any dates?"

"Oui" Alice said, "A Durmstrang student asked me earlier."

"Congratulations" Harry nodded, "And you Emma?"

Emma blushed slightly "No, I mean… I have been asked but I have not said yes to anyone."

Harry smiled. "Well, would you consider going with me?"

Emma glanced at Fleur for a moment, who was looking at her with a smile.

"Oui, I will go with you, Harry." She said smiling at him.

"Excellent." Harry said, "Well it be an honor. I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall beforehand?"

Emma nodded.

"Lovely. Well then, Alice, Fleur… Emma" Harry bowed slightly to the three girls, and walked towards the Entrance Hall.

Classes came to an end the following day, and the students had a week off before the Yule Ball.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day after dinner, Harry walked through the halls to the Defense classroom to meet with Remus and Sirius.

Harry entered the classroom to see Sirius and Remus already standing over the potion Snape had probably dropped off earlier that day.

"Hey, how's it going?" Harry asked as the two former classmates turned to him.

"Hey Harry, got a hot date for the Ball?" Sirius asked.

"I'm taking one of the French Beauxbatons students. Her name is Emma. She's nice." Harry said casually as he approached Remus' desk.

"What about Fleur?" Sirius asked, watching Harry closely. "I thought you might be interested…"

"Her boyfriend is coming from Paris." Harry said.

Remus was quiet during this exchange, either because of the closeness to the full moon rising, or the fact that he generally stayed out of Harry's personal life unless it was to simply encourage him to do what he felt was right.

"Shame. A pretty bird like that with some pompous frenchie." Sirius said.

"You don't know her boyfriend Sirius" Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, but he's probably one of those French elite types. No fun. Pompous. Bad in bed. Full of himself." Sirius said offhandedly. "I bet you could end that, and save her from a life of unfufillment. You are my godson after all." He said, looking him over. Harry and Remus rolled their eyes.

"I'm sure Harry will figure out what is right for him." Remus said quietly, as he leaned back against the table. "So, are we ready to go? Are you sure we should go out tonight? I could just go back into my office and have you two-"

"Nonsense" Sirius and Harry said in unison.

"Lets gooooo!" Sirius said, pushing Remus off the desk, and towards the door.

They made their way through the corridors and passageways, and out through the grounds and to the Whomping Willow. They walked through the passage, and once they reached the Shrieking Shack, Remus swallowed the potion and waited for the night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry trudged up through the passageway and into the castle. He had left Remus in the Shrieking Shack to recover, and Sirius had volunteered to stay with him. Harry was exhausted a bruised from a long night of wrestling with Sirius and the werewolf.

It was still early, and still a few more days away from Christmas, so the corridors were quiet. He was planning on eating a quick breakfast, and then finding a quiet room to catch up on sleep.

His feet and eyelids felt heavy, but he knew he would feel better if he ate before taking a nap.

Breakfast went by in a haze, and after eating a respectable amount he trudged out of the Great Hall.

"Hey." A voice said from behind him. Harry turned to see Daphne walking towards him.

"You don't look so good." She said as she approached, looking up at his face.

"Yeah…" Harry said slowly. "Just a long night, I was going to find an empty classroom and get some peaceful sleep."

"I see, well it might be best if you fix yourself up a bit." She said, quirking an eyebrow at him. "You've got a cut above your eye. Did you get in a fight?"

Harry shrugged. "Naw, just a rough night." He thought he had hidden any injuries, but he was tired and hadn't checked his face for scratches.

She pulled out her wand, and Harry felt warmth flow across his forehead.

"There you go. I wont press you for how you got it. So…" she said with a lighter tone. "I heard you're taking a Beauxbatons to the Ball."

Harry shrugged again. "Yeah, I couldn't ask you because that's not fair to you, and Fleur's got her boyfriend so…" Harry said tiredly.

Daphne smiled. "You would have asked me?"

"Yeah, but you're in Slytherin, and I know you couldn't say yes." Harry said, leaning up against the wall and letting his eyes close slightly.

"And what about Fleur? Why does it matter if she has a boyfriend?"

"I dunno, I suppose it doesn't. I wanted to ask her though."

"Why?"

"Because, I like her." Harry said, sleepily.

Daphne rolled her eyes, but Harry didn't see. His eyes were still closed.

"Come on." Daphne said, leading him by the arm to the closest classroom. She pulled the door open, and transfigured a desk into a bed.

She put him in the bed, and within moments Harry was asleep.

Daphne smiled again, and walked out of the room, closing the door and putting some charms on the door so that he wouldn't be disturbed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry awoke later that afternoon to the silent classroom. It took him a few moments, but he eventually remembered why he was there. He was still exhausted, but mentally noted to thank Daphne from preventing him from sleeping in the hallway and possibly being found by a less savory sort.

He walked to the Great Hall just in time for dinner. The Hall was full, and many students looked up at him. He pushed his glasses up his nose, and put a hand through his disheveled hair.

He saw Neville sitting with Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, and decided it would be preferable to eat alone tonight.

After another tired meal, the students began filtering out of the dinning hall and back to their common rooms. It was unsurprising how many students had decided to stay at Hogwarts for the Ball.

Harry heard Fleur make a vain comment about not being able to fit into her dress robes, and Hermione's response, but he couldn't care less.

He made eye contact with Fleur, who was as stunningly beautiful as always, and she stopped talking mid-sentence. They looked at each other for a few moments as the crowd of students pulled them towards the exit. She didn't smile at him this time, but Harry preferred it that way. Although he had made it seem like it was no issue, the fact that he just found out she was dating someone made it harder for him in that moment to show any sign of camaraderie. He thought…. Well it was somewhat impertinent to the situation. They split apart as the crowd moved towards their respective common rooms.

Harry was looking forward to a nice night of sleep, when a fifth year Ravenclaw student caught up with him.

"Excuse me! Uh, Harry Potter." The fifth year said as he jogged up next to Harry.

"Yeah?" Harry said, quirking an eyebrow at him as he came to a stop.

"I am supposed to give this to you." The Ravenclaw boy said, looking up to him.

Harry took the parchment, and opened it.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Would you be so kind as to join me in my office this evening?_

 _Best,_

 _Albus_

 _P.S. I find Cauldron Cakes to be particularly tasty this time of year._

"Thanks, uhh. I appreciate it." Harry said looking at the Ravenclaw student.

The boy smiled and ran off towards his friends back at the Entrance Hall.

Harry shrugged to himself, and even though he was tired, the thought of a meeting with Dumbledore had his blood pumping. He was awake again, and ready for whatever was in front of him.

Harry retraced his steps back to the Entrance Hall, and saw that Fleur was still in the doorway talking to some friends. She hadn't seen him, but Alice nudged her shoulder, and she looked across the Hall until she spotted him.

They locked eyes again, and for a moment maybe she had thought he was coming to talk to her, but he made his way through the still crowded hall to the staircase leading to Headmasters office.

"Caldron Cakes." Harry said firmly, and the gargoyle jumped out of the way to allow him access to the spiral staircase.

Harry jogged up the staircase to the door, and opened it to reveal Dumbledore standing behind his desk looking at a parchment.

Albus looked up "Ah, Harry, good. I am glad the note found you well. How are you?"

"I'm alright, and you sir?" Harry asked, closing the door behind him.

"Fine fine. I am sure you are aware of the organizational effort of these tasks and the Ball. Between that and Cornelius asking for a daily attendance I have to say I am quite busy. Yet!" He said, holding up a finger, as he made his way around his desk. "I believe you will be happy to hear I have not tarried on our more pressing concerns. I believe I have found another horcrux."

"Really sir?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Indeed." Dumbledore said, leaning against his desk. "As no doubt you remember, Tom had an interesting childhood at the orphanage, and as such it left quite the impact on his psyche.

"Also, if you remember correctly he had a profound effect on his fellow orphans. There were clear signs that he had tormented some of those children. One sign of that conclusion was a yearly trip the orphanage made to the coast.

"The year before he went to Hogwarts, Tom took two children to a cave in the rocky coastline, and… well although I am not completely sure what exactly occurred, you can imagine it was a difficult experience for the kids. In fact neither of them are in any shape to explain what happened.

"Anyways, I believe that if we re-trace his steps along the coast, we may find the exact spot where he began experimenting with darker magic, and possibly the location of the next horcrux. If you are willing, I would like to try to go there tonight."

Harry nodded vigorously, "Yes sir, I want to go."

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Very well, then we shall leave immediately. I believe we shall leave through the Entrance Hall. A competent disillusionment charm will suffice?" Dumbledore asked.

"It should sir." Harry said, pulling out his wand as the headmaster did, he completed the charm silently while tapping his head. He felt the familiar sensation of an egg being cracked on his head that signified a successful disillusionment charm.

Within moments they were both nearly invisible.

"Excellent spellwork Harry. I do believe your disillusionment charm rivals mine. Shall we?" He asked, as he led them to the door.

Harry and Albus walked through the hall, and to the semi-crowded entrance hall. They walked out onto the grounds, and pass students as they made their way to Beauxbatons carriage or Durmstrang's ship.

Without anyone being the wiser, the Headmaster and Hogwarts Champion exited the grounds, and after both pausing in the frigged December air, apparated to the coast of Great Britain.

The wind assaulted the two wizards the moment they landed on the coast. Harry was already missing the calm December evening at the castle, as the sea raged around them. Snow carpeted the stony coast, and Harry could barely see 10 feet in front of him.

"This way!" Dumbledore called through the night.

Harry followed Albus across the rocks. They walked for some time, but finally they came around a bend in the coast. The walk had been fraught with challenging and wet conditions. Harry was surprised that the headmaster would bring him here, but nonetheless it wasn't a bad place to hide something knowing it wouldn't be found.

There was a small break between the rocks forming a wall, and Dumbledore lit his wand before leading Harry into the dark rock-formed hall. They both used drying and warming charms to cleanse themselves of the winter conditions outside the cave.

It was considerably more quiet, but still dark and cold. Harry looked around the cave, and felt a layer of mental darkness that perpetuated through the enclosure. He felt something emanating from the far wall, and he followed Albus to it. They both examined it for a few minutes, and Harry reached out mentally to understand the riddle behind the magic. They looked at the seemingly innocuous wall, and then Dumbledore and Harry spoke simultaneously.

"Surely not." Harry said, while Dumbledore said "So crude."

"I am disappointed… I would have expected more from Tom in this regard. I believe we need a small blood sample to continue?" Said Dumbledore in the form of a question, turning to Harry.

Dumbledore may have tried to stop him, but Harry was far too quick. Before he could move to stop him, Harry had already conjured a knife, cut his hand, and placed it against the wall.

The rock moved, and a rudimentary entry appeared. Albus gave him a look, but Harry ignored it. Dumbledore and Harry stepped through the doorway, and the rock closed in behind them. It was much more dark, and Harry illuminated his wand to shed some light.

Before them was a large pond, or lake. Harry frowned, and silently urged more light from his wand into the room, shooting it out across the waters to the far walls. Now Harry could see more of the cavern, and he could spot a small island in the middle of the underground lake. The whole place seemed to emanate a green glow. Harry felt a prickle of unease within him, but he was able to quash it.

Dumbledore walked along the water towards a jutting pole. Upon further examination it was in the shape of a fist. Dumbledore soon extracted the boat from the water, and they took turns crossing the length of water to the small island inside of the rocky cave.

Within minutes they were both standing on the island, and they both approached the basin. The glow emanating from it was eerie, and to Harry much more worrisome than the inferni guarding the waters.

When Dumbledore couldn't touch the substance to retrieve the locket, Harry rolled his eyes.

"Let me guess, we've got to drink it." Harry said, pulling out his wand and conjuring a cup.

Dumbledore seemed to age in the green glow. "It would seem so, Harry, but I must be the one to drink." He said, reaching out to hold Harry's arm back.

"But I allowed you to reach into the substance. Isn't it only fair that I now attempt to drink it?"

"While you attempt is admirable Harry, it stopped me before I could touch it, and I have no doubt it will allow you to drink from it."

"Then allow me, sir. I may have little difficulty with fire spell casting, I'd rather have your wand defending us on our way out of here when we get this dammed locket."

"But your life is far more important at this juncture Harry." Dumbledore said, still holding back his arm.

"Please, Dumbledore, this isn't a conversation we should be having now. It won't kill me, of that we are both sure. Riddle would want to see who got this far before killing them."

Dumbledore grimaced, and Harry took the hesitation. He moved his arm away from Dumbledore's grasp and submersed the cup into the liquid. It didn't stop him, and Harry picked up a large amount of the potion.

Harry paused for a moment, and tossed the potion onto the rocks. The basin refilled immediately.

"Damn… well it was worth a try." Harry said, smirking at Albus.

Dumbledore didn't return the smile at Harry's attempt to ease the mood. "It was worth trying Harry." He noted.

He drove the cup back in to the refilled basin, pulled up the full cup, and without hesitation, chugged it. He now realized having Sirius show him how to chug alcohol wasn't completely useless after all.

Whatever the substance was, it tasted downright awful. Yet for a few moments Harry thought it wasn't even taking effect. He pulled up another full cup and downed it. As Harry was about to go for the third cup it started.

At first it was like a small buzzing in the back of his head, and then the screaming became progressively more pronounced. His mothers scream.

Within seconds his arm froze above the still formidable amount of liquid substance. His vision went in and out, and his footing became unsteady. One second it was the basin, the next it was back in his bedroom in Godrics Hollow. The screams. His fathers, his mothers. Sirius crying in the hallway. Remus crying at the table.

He drove the cup back into the liquid with a shaking hand, and drank again. He drove the cup back into the liquid again, draining them with more and more speed. The screams were unbearable…. The cackling laughter…. His body began to hurt all over, his teeth felt like they were falling out again and again… The green light flashing like the fireworks against the Horntail.

Harry was losing his grip on the cup.

His hands were going numb.

He drank again.

The image changed. Now it was Quirrell running towards him backwards with Voldemort's face sneering from the back of his skull. Quirrells body was jerking in all directions like something from a horror movie.

Then it was Tom Riddle standing in the Chamber, fully corporal, wand out, cackling. Earsplitting screams seemed to multiply all around him. Images of him failing to stop Voldemort ran on repeat through his mind, each one more and more violent, and each one more real. Sirius dying, Remus dying. It was all encompassing. Harry didn't know when he fell to the ground, but he felt Dumbledore's arms around him, holding him up.

He finally heard his own voice again. "No. no. no…" Harry's voice rasped, pushing the cup away weakly as Dumbledore put it to his lips. "Stop, I can't." The screams drowned his voice out again. His vision returned to see Dumbledore mouthing words to him.

Harry's voice rasped again. "Kill me. End it please, Albus. I can't." Tears were running down his face.

Harry couldn't hear his response, but he just kept drinking the potion that was put to his lips.

Harry felt his head roll, and he felt a wave of nausea. He suddenly felt that he had not had water in days… weeks even. His tongue felt like it was falling out. His hands were so numb he couldn't tell where they were anymore. The potion's effects went through him like crashing waves. Screams, images of genocide, Sirius dying, Remus dying, his body shaking in pain, his body immediately going so numb he could do absolutely nothing: repeated again, and again.

Voldemort stood before him, with his body returned. Deatheaters surrounded him. Screams, Riddle's laughing, and flashes of green light. "I've failed you." Harry thought; or said. He couldn't tell anymore. "I've failed all of you." Harry said as he drank more of the potion.

"It's over, they are all going to die." Harry fell out of Dumbledore's arms, and hit his head on the rocky island before Albus could recover. His vision swam again. His glasses were broken, and he could feel blood running down his face. Albus lifted him, and he heard him say "It's over Harry. We've got it. Let's go."

"Water…. Professor…. I need water."

"I know Harry, but you cannot have any. The magic here won't allow it, and the lake will draw out the inferni. You will be okay." Dumbledore said calmly in his clear, strong voice that seemed to cut directly through the potion and into his mind.

Harry's vision faded again, and the next time he regained consciousness they were outside of the cave. The cool breeze helped.

Dumbledore handed him a cup of water, and Harry downed it gratefully.

His voice recovered slightly, but he still felt awful. "Thank you sir…. Thank you… We need Snape."

"I know." Dumbledore said, but Harry couldn't here what he said next. The potion was starting to take effect again. The nausea and dehydration were resulting in the start of the worst migraine he had ever had. His vision went completely blind except for the far corner of his sight that was still clear that showed Dumbledore turning on the spot.

They aparated back near the school grounds, and Dumbledore's surprisingly strong arms half-dragged Harry down a street in Hogsmeade. A wave of nausea hit again, but whatever the potion was, it wouldn't let him throw it up. He felt like his scar was splitting open from the pain, and he blacked out again.

The next time he regained consciousness he was being floated down the deserted corridors towards the infirmary.

The potion assaulted him again, and he blacked out.

He awoke to the splitting headache and the echo's of his mother's screams.

Madame Pomfrey, Severus Snape, and Dumbledore were standing over him. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but his hearing was beginning to return to him.

"Water…." He was able to manage, and Pomfrey rushed to pour some water into his mouth. He just managed to swallow.

Snape was talking quickly to Albus, and he was barely able to catch what they were talking about. His hands were still slightly numb, but the potion had seemed to begin to focus on his head more than his body. He felt incredibly weak.

"Just shove a bezoar down my throat." Harry croaked.

Snape looked down at him, and smirked slightly. "It's not a bad idea Potter, but I believe this will take some measure of potion work… I will return with options shortly, and begin working on some other antidotes."

"I trust you professor." Harry managed, before blacking out again.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry woke hours later in the dark infirmary. He looked over to see the silhouette of Sirius and Remus who were both resting in the chairs next to the bed. He looked to the other side to see a myriad of potion bottles. Harry recognized a headache potion, and a few others that pertained to the side effects of the potion, before sleep claimed him again.

Harry woke again to sunshine coming through the infirmary windows. The familiar light angles suggested that it was late morning.

Harry looked around to see Sirius, Snape, Pomfrey, McGonagall and Dumbledore all standing at the foot of his bed in deep discussion.

"I was able to counter-act most of the side effects but I'm still searching for the antidote, it was a dark potion-

Snape's sentence was cut off by Sirius who was glaring at him, "Not fast enough apparently." He sneered.

Minerva cut in, "What are we going to tell the rest of the staff Dumbledore? People will notice that Harry isn't with the student body, he is a Champion, and all three schools are still here for the Ball?"

"If only I could find the right antidote, but if we use the wrong one it could be devastating" Snape said, ignoring Minerva's comment.

"Well maybe if you weren't such a bloody git!" Sirius said his voice growing louder.

"Shhhh!" Pomfrey cut in, "Sirius, you could wake him"

"I'm awake." Harry said, his eyes half open, but his voice slightly stronger than the night before.

"Harry!" Sirius said. Harry couldn't quite see his facial features due to his poor vision, but he could hear the worry in his voice.

"How are you feeling, kid?" Sirius said, sitting down next to his bed.

"Like shit. Lay off Snape, alright Sirius?" Harry said tiredly. "I'd be in worse shape without his help on this one."

"Potter, I have been able to counteract some of the side effects, but whatever that potion was it's still in effect. It will take me some time, but I think I will be able to find a solution." Snape said, ignoring the hard look Sirius was giving him.

Harry nodded. At least one of the multitudes of potions he was on was starting to wear off, and he felt a wave of exhaustion mixed with a migraine starting to assault him. "Do what you can…"

Once again, Harry fell asleep.

At some point during the day or night, Harry would be shaken awake to take more potions, but otherwise he wanted to avoid the effects of the dark potion that still operated within his body.

Finally, on Christmas Eve Snape returned to the Hospital Wing with what he hoped was the solution.

Pomfrey got Harry sitting up, and she poured in the antidote.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Disclaimer. I own nothing. JK Rowling owns all the things.

A/N: Thanks to all who liked/followed and reviewed 3. I am glad people are enjoying the story; it makes me want to update even faster.

On Harry smoking: Like many people in Europe, kids find smoking cool when they are 16, 17, 18, so I think Harry probably thinks it's cool too. I don't personally smoke cigarettes (I do VERY infrequently, but I don't condone it). Nonetheless there are a lot of people that do smoke cigarettes. In the U.S. it's different; big-tobacco lost, and less people smoke now; it's a different story in other places across the globe.

Also: a quick shout-out to those who point out mistakes. I greatly appreciate you! I make many writing errors, and when you point them out I can become a better writer. Sometime in the future I will go back and start editing those chapters for those annoying mistakes (that bother me too, I'm just not where I want to be when it comes to my writing ability). Also, I apologize for misspelling character's names; I'll try to fix that in the future.

Happy Fall everyone.

And here we go:

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry woke up later in the day expecting to feel the familiar effects of the potion immediately set in despite the best attempts of the everyday remedies. Yet, the headache and tiredness was lessened. The buzzing, nausea, and numbness were more subdued. He reached over and put his glasses on.

"How are you feeling Potter?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she walked up to his bed. Apparently she had been standing guard over him as he rested.

"Better." Harry said, finding that there was more strength in his voice. "Much better."

Pomfrey gave him a tight smile. "Do you think you are ready for a proper meal?"

Harry nodded.

Pomfrey went about obtaining a meal from the house elves, and within minutes Harry was eating some toast and fruit. He felt his appetite return to him for the first time since drinking the potion.

"Professor Snape will be glad to hear the potion has worked." Pomfrey noted. "And Sirius should be coming around soon. He was just catching up on some sleep."

Harry nodded again.

"So, Dumbledore seems unwilling to tell me what series of events resulted in you taking whatever potion that was…" She said, without actually asking the question.

Harry looked up from his food with a small smile. "What? I always end up in the hospital wing at least once a semester, it's like a tradition at this point."

She scoffed quietly, and turned towards some individuals who were coming into the infirmary. Harry thought that at this point the whole school knew he was in the hospital wing. So he saw little reason for the medical shades that blocked the door's view of his bed.

As the day progressed Harry felt better. Sirius and Remus had visited, and he was now reading a good book on wizard history in the 1400s.

He ate Christmas Eve dinner in the Hospital Wing with Sirius and Remus, and they chatted about easy topics. They laughed often, and Harry felt better than he had in days; he even partook in some wine.

Although it wasn't like being home in the Potter Manor, having Sirius and Remus there with him made him feel at home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning was Christmas, and the Yule Ball was to take place later that evening. Sirius and Remus stopped by in the morning, and they all exchanged gifts. They enjoyed a long breakfast, and Sirius and Remus looked on as Harry finally climbed out of bed and walked around the infirmary. Harry was not feeling perfectly normal yet, and he may have been a bit unsteady, but he felt okay. _Okay enough,_ Harry thought, _to attend the Ball._

Pomfrey pursed her lips when Sirius brought one of Harry's dress robes, but otherwise didn't comment. It was a battle she was sure she wasn't going to win.

A few hours before the Christmas feast, Neville came through the entrance to the hospital wing. He looked around the room until he stopped Harry, and he hastened over.

"Harry!" Neville said, with worry etched across his face. "How are you?"

Harry smiled as he lay on top of the hospital bed. "I'm well Nev, how are you? Are you ready for your date tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. Everyone is talking about you Harry, everyone thinks you're up here dying or something."

"I'm fine Nev. I just wanted to ask if you would be willing to tell Emma that I will be at the Ball tonight, and to not worry."

Neville looked surprised, "Yeah, of course Harry. Anything."

They chatted for a little while, and then Neville went back to Gryffindor Tower to change.

Neville returned a little while before the Ball in his dress robes. He was going to meet Ginny in the entrance hall. Sirius and Remus soon joined them, both already changed into their dress robes.

Neville and Remus looked on with mild concern when he still initially struggled to move around, but Sirius was all for him going to the Ball. Harry wanted to go also, and after a shower, he changed into his dress robes and felt the best he had felt since the potion.

Harry checked his collar in the mirror as Sirius, Remus, and Neville lounged around in chairs talking about politics. Harry turned to them. "Let's go" Harry said casually, with a smile. He was eager to leave the Hospital Wing.

Harry picked up the cane that was leaning up against the side of his bed, and walked with Neville, Sirius and Remus down the hallways to the Entrance Hall. As they neared the Entrance Hall Harry found himself taking a deep breath before turning the corner.

Harry saw Emma standing with Alice, Fleur, and what he guess was Fleur's boyfriend. Sirius and Remus were already walking over to the teachers group, while Neville was meeting with Ginny on the other side of the Hall.

Harry walked with purpose across the Hall. He felt better now, but the cane helped keep him steady. It likely was not the best sight for a seventeen-year-old Hogwarts Champion to be walking with a cane, and he probably looked like he had just spent a few days in a hospital bed.

Emma turned to him as he walked across the Hall and looked him up and down. Harry drew more and more attention as he walked across the Hall, and people started to whisper, but Harry focused on the Beauxbatons group ahead of him. Her eyes lingered on the cane, and his walk with a somewhat worried look, but when Harry approached she gave him a smile.

"Emma." Harry said, smiling. He hung his cane on his arm, and reached down to take Emma's hand, kissing the back of it softly. "Bonsoir" he said in a low voice just for her.

"Good evening Harry, are you alright?" Emma asked, with the look of concern on her face.

"Just a small medical issue, nothing to worry about." Harry said offhandedly. He turned to Alice, Fleur, and Fleur's boyfriend.

"Good evening." Harry said in French to the two girls before turning to the boy.

"Hello, my name is Harry. Harry Potter. It's nice to meet you." Harry said in what he hoped was a friendly voice.

"Hello Harry Potter, my name is Lucas Clément Chevalier." He said, shaking Harry's hand firmly. He was a bit shorter than Harry, but no doubt a stately individual. He had blond hair like Fleur, blue eyes, and good posture. Overall what he lacked in attractiveness compared to Fleur, he made up for with aristocratic stature.

"It's a pleasure." Harry said smiling. "So what do you think of Hogwarts so far?"

"It seems like a fine place of learning, although I myself am home-schooled, Fleur tells me it rivals Beauxbatons in academics."

"A great compliment indeed." Harry said.

Harry was spared from continuing the pleasantries as Viktor and his date approached them. Harry smiled when he saw that Viktor had decided to ask Hermione.

"Hello Viktor, how are you?" Harry asked, extending his hand.

Viktor smiled slightly, and shook his hand. "Vell, thank you for asking. This is my date, Herminone" Viktor –naturally- struggled with her difficult name.

Hermione smiled, and introduced herself to everyone.

Alice soon left to join her date, as the three champions and their dates made their way towards Professor McGonagall chatting about their winter vacation plans. The oak doors to the Great Hall finally opened, and the students began filing into the Hall. The house elves had once again outdone themselves. The Hall was the most beautiful Harry had seen it in his six and a half years at Hogwarts. The tables had been replaced with smaller, circular tables. And while the Champions, judges, and professors had their own large table in the center of the room, the rest was open seating. Students of all houses and institutes sat together, chatting and staring around the Hall together.

They all turned to see the judges and champions with their dates enter the Hall. While Fleur naturally drew the majority of the looks due to her allure, Harry was the subject of pointing fingers and outbreak of discussions. Harry walked steadily towards the tables with his cane in his left hand as he held Emma's arm in his right. Harry smiled at the crowd, and Emma followed suit. All of the judges and champions were mixed together at the table. Harry took an empty seat while Emma sat on his right.

They followed Dumbledore's example, ordered from the menu provided, and the feast commenced.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?" Emma asked, as they were enjoying their meal.

Harry had just listening to a rather amusing story from Dumbledore about finding a bathroom that he had never seen before, and didn't respond immediately. Harry knew it was the Room of Requirement that the headmaster was referring to, and reminded himself to tell the headmaster about it at some point, before he responded, "I was recovering from fighting another dragon that got the better of me this time." Harry said jokingly as he turned to her.

Emma rolled her eyes. "I guess not then."

Harry decided to sidestep his injures. "How have you been, Emma? Have you had a nice Christmas Day so far?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, Fleur, Alice and I had a nice morning together exchanging gifts, but then we spent the rest of the day getting ready for the Ball."

"Well you look lovely." Harry commented. She was wearing a forest green dress that complimented her eyes well.

"Thank you." She said looking him over. "You're not so bad yourself. I know Fleur thinks so too."

Harry quirked an eyebrow, "What? Am I _that_ obvious?"

Emma laughed, "No. She either can't tell or won't admit it."

"And which one is it?"

"Probably a mixture of both." Emma said honestly. "But she keeps looking over here."

Harry kept his eyes on Emma, "Maybe because she just wants to check on you?"

Emma smiled. "Doubtful, she knows I can take care of myself."

"Lucas seems nice." Harry said, making small talk as he ate.

"Yes, he is. Fleur and Lucas have been together for a few years. Partially because his family is very well placed in France, and partially because he can somewhat ignore the allure due to the fact that he's known her for most of their lives. They used to always see each other at the aristocratic parties back in France, and their parents were happy with the arrangement." Emma noted.

"Mmm. I see, and I feel terrible to admit it, but I never learned what your last name is?" Harry asked in the form of a question.

"Laurent."

"Mine's Potter." Harry said smiling at her.

Emma rolled her eyes again before asking, "So who is Viktor's date?"

"Harry looked over at Viktor who was attempting to learn how to say her name. "That's Hermione Granger. She's a fourth year in my house. She's the most clever girl in this school." Harry said honestly.

"Really?" Emma said with interest.

"Yeah, all of the professors think she is brilliant. She's also muggleborn." Harry added, paying attention to her response.

Emma's eyebrows rose for a moment. "That's even more impressive then, since she would have not had a prior magical education before starting school."

"I agree wholeheartedly." Harry said.

At that moment Dumbledore stood, and the plates cleared themselves. Everyone followed suit, and within moments the tables moved to the sides of the Hall and a stage appeared in the far corner of the room. The Weird Sisters soon emerged, and Harry rested his cane on the chair.

"Shall we?" Harry asked, standing and holding his hand out for Emma.

"Are you sure Harry?" Emma asked giving him a renewed look of concern again.

"It would be an honor." Harry said, smiling.

Emma took his arm, and they walked to the center of the dance floor. Hermione and Viktor, along with Fleur and Lucas soon joined them, and the band struck a slow tune.

Harry had been saving his energy, and felt comfortable leading Emma around the room. He had made a few light jokes about her having to hold him up, but he was a satisfactory, if not refined dancer.

Soon other students, professors, and judges joined them on the dance floor, and everyone except for maybe Ronald Weasley, was having fun.

After a few more songs, they decided to take a break, and while Emma went to get them something to drink, Harry sat down next to Sirius at one of the remaining tables.

"Hey kid," Sirius said, as he watched the Hall. "Hot date. How's it going?"

"Well. Emma is an excellent dancer, and even better company. She's getting us something to drink now."

Sirius nodded but before he could respond, Albus Dumbledore came to sit with them.

"Merry Christmas Harry, Sirius. How are you two?" He asked, taking a seat next to them.

"Well sir, and how is your Christmas so far?" Harry asked.

"Very well indeed. I wanted to thank you for your Christmas gift Harry. Ever since our discussion your third year, you've never failed to provide me with some excellent socks; I always look forward to them." Dumbledore said with a kind smile before starting again, "I've felt that there were certain times in a year in which we should allow ourselves to step away from politics and the rest. Unfortunately it seems tonight is not that night."

"Understandable," Said Sirius. It was hard to miss the fact that Dumbledore had been busy talking to the multitude of politicians and ministry individuals who had attended the Ball.

"Well as it seems this is has become a working evening, and thankfully you are now back on your feet Harry, I was hopeful that you would be able to take a moment to look at this. "

Dumbledore pulled out the locket from inside of his robes, and handed it to Harry. It felt utterly devoid of magic.

"As you can no doubt see Harry, our trip to the caves seems to have been fruitless." Dumbledore said in a quietly dispassionate voice to the two of them.

"So this was what you were after?" Sirius asked, looking down at the locket.

"Indeed," Dumbledore said, "Yet interestingly enough, if you open the locket." He indicated to the latch, and Harry opened it.

"You will find an interesting clue to the lockets possible whereabouts." Dumbledore finished.

Harry picked up the piece of paper, and read the note left by R.A.B.

"R.A.B.?" Sirius asked, with a look of surprise.

"Yes, it seems we were beaten to the locket by this individual who had found out what Voldemort was up to, and hoped to defeat him." Dumbledore said, looking directly at Sirius.

"But… Regulus? Really? Surely not." Sirius seemed distracted.

"It would seem so Sirius." Dumbledore said calmly. "Is that not Regulus' handwriting?"

"It… I mean… yes. It is." Sirius eyebrows were knotted together as he continued to stare at the note. "But, that's… that's impossible. He was devoted to Voldemort. He was devoted to the Black cause."

"He was very young when he joined them Sirius, and still very young when he clearly attempted to defect."

Sirius looked troubled as he folded the paper and handed it to Harry who placed it back into the locket.

At that moment Emma returned to the table where Albus, Harry, and Sirius still sat.

Emma looked at the three of them, "I am sorry, am I interrupting somezing?" She asked as she assessed them.

"Not at all Ms. Laurent." Dumbledore said kindly. He stood up from his seat, and gave her a small bow before walking across the room towards Professor McGonagall.

Harry smiled, and stood as well, placing the locket in his pocket and accepting the drink from Emma. "Merci." He said.

Sirius still looked distracted, but still managed one of his smiles before saying, "I'm going for a walk Harry, I'll catch up with you later."

Emma and Harry watched him go, and she turned back to him with a questioning look. "I was definitely interrupting something." She said, and Harry chuckled.

"Thank you for the drink, and allowing me to rest a little. You may believe you interrupted something, but it's a conversation we can no doubt continue at another, more appropriate time. Now, are you interested in some more dancing?"

Emma and Harry rejoined the dance floor, and they both enjoyed some of the more upbeat hits from the Weird Sisters After some time Harry switched dancing partners with Krum, and he got to dance with Hermione for a little while. Overall Harry was enjoying himself. He wasn't worried about the effects of the potion anymore, and laughed with Emma, Krum, and Hermione, as he was able to be a teenager for a while.

Harry and Emma took another break after more dancing. Although Harry felt better, he needed the rest, and Emma could tell. She went to get them some more drinks, and Harry sat down at an empty table. Yet, after a few minutes Daphne joined him at the otherwise empty table.

"Hey, how are you?" Harry asked. Daphne had apparently just been dancing to the still upbeat music as she was breathing heavily.

"Good" she said with a smile, "And you? It seems like you and Emma are getting along well."

"Yeah, she's been great to me. So, you aren't worried about people seeing you next to me?"

She shrugged. "Everyone seems to be having a good time, so I think it's fine."

Harry nodded, and Emma soon joined them. She handed him another drink, and then turned to Daphne.

Emma smiled at Daphne and said, "Hello, my name ez Emma." Extending her hand.

Daphne took it, and looked up at her, "It's nice to meet you, my name is Daphne."

"It ez nice to meet you too." She said.

Harry looked across the room, and saw the moment he had been waiting for.

"Hey, uh… " Harry said, running a hand through his hair after he finished his drink. "I am gonna go across the room for a bit, okay?" He asked Emma, who turned to see what he was looking at. She turned back with a knowing smile on her face.

"Of course, good luck." She said, taking his seat next to Daphne when he stood up.

He walked purposefully across the room towards Fleur -without the assistance of a cane- who had just finished dancing with Lucas.

"May I have this dance?" Harry asked easily in French as he approached Fleur and Lucas with a small smirk.

"Bien sûr" Lucas said, "Have as many as you like, I believe there is someone from the Department of Justice here tonight, and my father told me to get acquainted with him. I'll see you later." He added to Fleur, but before she could respond he was already walking away towards one of the far tables.

"He iz alwayz thinking of politics." Fleur said in english with a look of slight annoyance on her face.

"Are you okay with dancing?" Harry asked

She turned her attention to him, with a slight look of surprise. "Yes, of course." She said with a small smile

Harry smiled at her, "Come on." Harry said, taking her thin hand and leading her into the dance floor.

Within a minute he already had Fleur laughing at his dance moves as they danced through the upbeat tunes.

After the following song it seemed the Weird Sisters were changing up the mood again, as the tempo dropped to a more relaxed tune. Harry and Fleur came together, and Harry put his hand on the small of her back, while Fleur rested her hand on his shoulder.

"So, are you going to tell me why you've been in the hospital wing, Harry?" Fleur asked softly as the song started.

"What? No small talk to warm me up first?" Harry said lightheartedly, while raising an eyebrow and giving her a crooked grin.

She gave him a look. Her eyes were a deep blue, and Harry found it difficult to look away as he said, "Why do you care to know?" he asked matching her tone.

"Because I was worried about you."

"Really?" Harry asked, unable to stop the warmth he felt in his chest when she said it.

"Yes. So are you going to tell me, or lie like you did to Emma?"

"How did you know I lied to Emma?"

"You wouldn't be stupid enough to fight another dragon, would you?"

"You never know, apparently I might be mentally ill."

Fleur rolled her eyes, and she looked a little frustrated with him, so Harry moved her a little closer to him. She didn't pull away, and after a few minutes of dancing quietly together a new, slower song came on.

"Why do you always seem to be in the middle of everything? In the hospital wing? Always looking exhausted randomly?" Fleur finally asked after a few minutes into the romantic song, looking anywhere but at him. "I heard you were somehow a part of a professor leaving the school, and something about saving a girl? I thought they were all stories at first, but..."

"Well you certainly know more about me, than I, you." Harry said, smiling sadly at her. This was not how he had planned this to go, but nonetheless this is where they were. Where he got to with most girls before….

"What happened to you Harry? Why were you in the Hospital Wing?" She asked resolutely, finally looking up at him with her eyebrows knotted. _So cute…_ he thought.

 _Fuck it, she's got someone already anyways, and after this year I won't be seeing her again._ He sighed before saying"I left Hogwarts with the Headmaster… and we went to a cave on the coast where we crossed a lake full of inferni … and I drank a potion that nearly killed me."

"Why would you do something like that? Why would you risk your life so easily?" She asked with frustration entering her voice again.

They had stopped dancing, and Harry's hand had moved to her waist as they distanced themselves from each other slightly.

"There are things that are more important than my life, Fleur."

"So you drink some random dark potion?" She asked harshly; her facial features clearly frustrated now; her eyes staring straight into his.

"I have battles that I have to fight. There are things I need to do-"

"No." She cut in. "You don't. You're seventeen 'Arry. You are still a student, you do not have to go risking your life, for… for… whatever it is you have going on." Her frustration was mixed with small level of pleading in her voice as she attempted to persuade him as they stood facing each other in the middle of the dance floor.

The line of the prophecy that he had taken from the Department of Mysteries without telling anyone was playing in his head again. Harry sighed.

He picked up Fleur's hand, and kissed it softly. "I hope you have a good evening, Fleur. Lucas is a very lucky man."

He turned, and walked off the dance floor towards the doors. He glanced over to see Daphne and Emma still in deep conversation, both smiling. Daphne saw him out of the corner of her eye, but she saw his expression, and turned back to Emma who hadn't seen him.

Harry walked out of the Entrance Hall, and walked around the winter gardens that had been set up for the Ball. He lit a cigarette and watched the smoke float into the night air. He was frustrated for allowing himself to get into it with Fleur. It was the exact opposite of what he wanted to do, but at the same time it was his fault for letting it happen. He felt his hand clench for a moment and he let out a breath of frustration.

He stood there for a while, enjoying the last of his cigarette before he turned and walked back into the Entrance Hall.

His body was beginning to become sluggish and tired, and he knew that he should probably call it a night. He went back into Hall to see that the Ball was slowly coming to an end. Fleur had joined Alice in the corner of the room, and was facing away from him. He picked up his cane, and said goodnight to a few people who he passed. Otherwise he was left to wander the halls himself, and soon he was laying in his bed, still frustrated with himself.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry woke the next day to an overcast morning. He had a subdued breakfast with the exhausted student body, and after packing some clothes he went with the other Hogwarts students to the Hogsmeade train station. He opted to not take the train, and instead apparated directly to the manor with Remus.

Harry had been feeling down since the previous evening, but getting back to the warmth of the Manor definitely raised his spirits. Dobby, who Harry had hired after he had secured the house elf's freedom already had one of Harry's favorite snacks sitting on the kitchen table when he arrived.

Harry sat at the table and chatted with Dobby as he enjoyed some banana bread.

Sirius and Remus were both out and about through the day, so Harry was able to go to the Manor's library and focus on getting some of his holiday assignments out of the way.

Dumbledore sent a letter later that afternoon to say that he would be stopping by the next day, but otherwise Harry had a quiet afternoon to himself.

That evening Harry, Remus, and Sirius had a nice dinner together. Harry no longer needed the cane, and they called it their official Christmas dinner, since sitting in the hospital wing wasn't the best experience.

The next morning after a restful sleep and a long breakfast the three wizards all stood in the main living room waiting for Dumbledore's arrival.

Finally, Dumbledore arrived through the floo network to the Manor.

"Good morning." Dumbledore said, serenely as he stepped swiftly out of the fireplace.

"Good morning sir," Harry said easily, standing up from the chair he was just sitting in. He took a final sip of his coffee before putting it down

"Morning". Sirius and Remus intoned.

"So." Dumbledore said, clasping his hands together in the Manor. "Shall we pay a visit to number twelve Grimmauld Place?"

Harry and Remus both looked towards Sirius, who responded, "Yeah, let's get this out of the way."

Sirius was clearly not look excited to visit the house of his childhood. He had been subdued all morning, and Harry assumed Dumbledore had picked up on it as well.

They walked out the back door and into the fields that surrounded the Manor. The four wizards walked through the cool grounds to the edge of the property. Once Harry felt that they had left the barriers to the manor, they all disapparated to the square that was the home to the House of Black.

Harry looked around the small park, and inspected the playground before turning to see Sirius walking up to the street adjacent to the square.

Sirius tapped his wand against the metal fence, and Harry watched a building appear before his very eyes. Within a matter of a few seconds, Number 12 Grimmauld Place became visible. Harry joined Remus behind Dumbledore and Sirius as they walked up the steps to the door.

Sirius opened the door, and they all stepped into the dark hallway. Before he could even register any physical thing within the pitch-black hallway an earsplitting scream emanated all around them. Harry instinctively had pulled out his wand and was waving it around looking for the source of commotion.

"Shut up you _bitch!_ " Sirius roared from somewhere in front of him, as something rustled.

Harry continued to look around blindly in the dark until light from Dumbledore's wand illuminated the hall. Harry looked around to see Sirius struggling with some curtains, and once he had fully secured them he turned back to Harry and Remus.

"My lovely mother."

"That's your mom?" Harry asked with his eyebrows raised.

"A rather awful woman."

"She was indeed a difficult individual." Dumbledore intoned, as he pushed onwards into the dank home.

Harry, Dumbledore, Remus, and Sirius all walked into the dimly lit kitchen and dining area. Dumbledore sent light around the room, and Harry observed the decrepit area. Whatever had been occurring in the home after the death of the Black family, cleaning was not one of those things.

"Kreacher!" Sirius yelled, as he threw himself into one of the chairs that were at the dining table. He looked dejectedly around the room, and Harry noted the importance of getting out of this place as soon as possible due to its effect on Sirius.

Within a moment or two a loud crack resounded through the room, and all four wizards turned to see an elderly house elf bowed deeply towards Sirius.

"Master Sirius has returned." It croaked with displeasure.

"Shut up Kreacher." Sirius said, but the house elf kept talking under it's breath as he looked as the other wizards.

"Filth, such filth. What would mistress say if it saw such filth enter it's household. What is that? It smells like a werewolf, and that one? With a scar on its forehead, it must be some kind of sick half-bred-"

"Shut up Kreacher!" Sirius bellowed, "Stupid fucking house elf."

Harry held up his hand to Sirius before saying, "Kreacher, do you know if Regulus ever brought a golden locket back to the house."

Kreacher froze. His rampant muttering stopped immediately, and his glassy, unfocused eyes became clear in an instant. His eyes matched Harry's before answering, "Yes." He answered in a clear voice, and the four wizards were dead silent when they heard his response.

"And where is it now?"

"Upstairs." He nearly whispered, still staring directly into Harry's eyes with absolute clarity that Harry would have thought impossible just a few moments ago.

"Can you bring it to us?" Harry asked kindly.

Kreacher disapparated in an instant, and then reappeared holding the gold locket in his outstretched hand.

Harry looked down at the golden locket. The moment it had entered the room with Kreacher, Harry heard a faint buzzing emanate in his mind. He reached down slowly, and took the locket from Kreacher's hand. He could feel whatever was in the locket _move_ slightly, and it unnerved him.

Kreacher was still staring at Harry, as he placed the locket on the table. Dumbledore moved swiftly towards the fireplace, made some complicated wand movements and jumped into the floo network.

The room was silent as Sirius stared at Kreacher, Kreacher stared at Harry, and Harry stared at the locket while Remus leaned against the kitchen counter surveying the scene closely.

A moment later Dumbledore returned, holding the sword of Gryffindor.

Kreacher's eyes seemed to widen even more as he took in the goblin made sword.

Dumbledore cleared his throat as he put the sword on the table. The locket seemed to shake slightly, but it didn't make any movement to flee the sword.

"I believe that before we do this, it would be best if we could possibly gain some more information about how the locket came to be in Kreacher's possession. Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, looking over at the still frozen figure.

Sirius looked over at Dumbledore when he said his name, and he shook his head from the mental ravine. "Right… yeah, sorry. Uh, Kreacher…" Sirius asked, in a not unfriendly voice. "I order you to tell us where you got that locket."

Kreacher looked from Harry, to Sirius, to Dumbledore, and back to Sirius.

Kreacher went on to explain the situation that had occurred with Regulus, and how Kreacher had some to possess the locket.

He explained through loud sobs how Regulus had forced Kreacher to take him to the cave, and then subsequently leave him there to die.

Kreacher explained how he had failed to destroy the locket, no matter what he tried to do, and how he had failed Regulus's last demand.

It was rather pitiful in many ways. Harry felt uncomfortable listening, and he could see Sirius was struggling with the story as well. He couldn't imagine what Sirius was feeling knowing that his brother had defied Voldemort. It definitely changed a deep seeded narrative that Sirius had always clung to.

They listened until Kreacher had nothing left to say, and was crying quietly on the ground. They all looked on in silence, each in their own minds trying to understand and visualize the course of events Kreacher had just laid out.

"Sirius should destroy the locket." Harry said quietly.

Sirius looked at Harry, and then at Remus. "No…." He said.

"I think it's a good idea." Remus said, pushing himself off the counter, and walking into the middle of the room.

Dumbledore stayed silent as he watched the scene in front of him. He looked older in the semi-lit kitchen, much like when they were in the cave standing over the basin….

Harry turned, and grabbed the sword of Gryffindor off the table. The locket started to shake in an even more pronounced manner.

"I'm going to open it Sirius," He said, handing the sword to him so that he had to take it, "And you're going to destroy it. Don't hesitate." Harry added.

He looked down at the locket before Sirius could respond, and said ' _open'_ in parseltongue.

The locket stopped shaking instantly, and the moment it opened it let out an ear splitting screech that drowned out Kreacher's sobbing. Harry jumped back, clapping his hands over his ears and the locket continued to scream.

" _SIRIUS BLACK!"_ the locket yelled. Black smoke started billowing out of the small container at an unnatural speed.

"Sirius!" Harry yelled over the locket, "Do it!"

Sirius hesitated for a fraction of a second, but then leaped forward and brought the sword of Gryffindor down hard on the table, smashing the locket in half, and embedding the sword into the thick wooden table.

Utter silence filled the room again as Sirius stepped back from the cleaved table.

"Well, that was interesting." Remus said unnecessarily, while Kreacher looked at Sirius with wide eyes.

Sirius scoffed, and said something else, but Harry wasn't paying attention.

Harry ignored the two, and held out his hand to Dumbledore. "The fake locket, sir."

Dumbledore looked at Harry with surprise, before reaching into his robes and producing the locket.

Harry took the locket, and while the elf started muttering again as he stared at Sirius, he held it up in front of the house elf's face. The muttering stopped immediately, and Kreacher froze when saw the locket.

"Do you know what this is, Kreacher?" Harry asked, kneeling down so that he was closer to Kreacher's eye level.

"H-How did you get that? That belonged to m-master Regulus" Kreacher seemed to stunned to see the locket.

"I know. I retrieved it from the very basin in which he left it." Harry said evenly, "and I want you to have it."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A half-hour later the four wizards returned to Potter Manor after extracting themselves from Kreacher who had fallen to pieces after receiving a Black family heirloom.

Between destroying the real locket, and bringing Kreacher closure on the subject, the house elf seemed to recover from his decrepit lifestyle, and he pledged himself to Sirius and Harry.

By the time they had left, Kreacher was already cleaning the place up with renewed vigor. Remus said he would go back to the house often to check on the progress. Dumbledore seemed to believe that holding the place, and making it livable would be a strong asset for them in the future.

Once Dumbledore left, Harry, Remus, and Sirius had a relaxing dinner prepared by Dobby who seemed happy to have more people to cook for.

The next couple of days before the New Years party at the Delacour's were relaxing for Harry. He finished his winter break assignments, and spent his free time playing chess against Remus.

He also finally took some time to work on the egg. When Harry had placed the egg on the table, and finally opened it, Sirius pointed out that it was "fucking merpeople," which resulted in the telling of a hilarious story of when Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter had meet a few of them in their fourth year.

With this knowledge, Harry had submerged the egg in one of the bathtubs, and received the clue to the next task. He gathered that he would have to swim in the lake to find who or whatever was most important to him, and that he would have just one hour to do so. His gut reaction was to simply rely on a bubble head charm, and use his wand as propulsion to move through the water at a solid pace, yet he knew it would be best to do some more research on the matter before hand.

xxxxxxxxxxx

On the 31st of December Harry woke up to a sunny morning at the Manor. His course work was finished, the next horcrux had been destroyed, and he had made progress with the second task. As Harry had his morning coffee in the living room, he finally allowed himself to think back on the Yule Ball, and specifically his conversation with Fleur.

 _It didn't go well,_ he thought to himself. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He sighed with frustration still in his thoughts.

"What's up." Sirius said, walking into the living room in his pajamas, and holding a cup of coffee as he took a seat on the couch.

"Just frustrated with myself. Where's Remus?" Harry asked, taking another sip from his coffee.

"He had to go back to Hogwarts to submit some paperwork for the next semester. Why are you frustrated?"

"I just messed up at the Yule Ball with Fleur, and it's still eating at me."

"So that's why you left without saying goodbye?" Sirius said.

"Hey, you were already gone by then, but yeah… I just… I don't know, I suppose it doesn't really matter because she has a boyfriend anyways-"

"You're both seventeen Harry." Sirius cut in, "Trust me, I know that some of your classmates probably find their 'soulmate' when they are teenagers, but that's not the case for the majority of people."

"True, but for them it's a real possibility, their families are close."

"Yes, but so was your dad and a lot of other pureblood families. Time's have changed Harry, and most people don't marry their first boyfriend or girlfriend. Just give it time, and if you two are meant for each other, then it will work out."

"Since when did you give relationship advice?" Harry said, "Didn't you cheer when Sarah and I broke up?"

Sirius raised his free hand defensively, "Hey, look, Remus and James were the ones that had a mushy heart for this kind of stuff. I'm just saying what I think they would agree with. If it was me, and this girl had gotten my attention, I'd seduce her for the one-night stand, move on, and forget about it; her relationship be damned. Unlike myself, your dad chased after Lily for years. I'm just trying to be a good dogfather"

Harry rolled his eyes at the bad joke, and stood up.

"Well, I suppose this evening will be interesting."

"Try not to… you know… fight with the girl." Sirius said condescendingly, but with a light tone.

"It wasn't my intention!" Harry defended.

Sirius paused for a moment, and then chuckled, "You know what?"

"What."

"This reminds me of when James would say the same damned thing," He then went one with an imitating voice "It wasn't my fault Padfoot, I wasn't _trying_ to fight with her."

"You know, most of the time you're a lot like Lily, but sometimes… sometimes you're just like James." Sirius chuckled again while shaking his head as he walked back into the kitchen area for breakfast, leaving Harry standing there in the living room holding his cup of coffee.

Later that evening Harry stood in his bedroom as he adjusted his dress robes. Remus had returned a few hours earlier, and they were enjoying some pre-party cocktails, as they got ready for the party.

Soon Harry and Remus were both waiting downstairs for Sirius to be done getting ready.

"Come on!" Harry yelled for the third time. He rolled his eyes has he checked his watch.

"Every damned time." Harry intoned to Remus who smiled.

"What do you expect, Harry? You know he lives for this."

"What!?" Sirius said, as he walked down the stairs. He looked his normal disheveled self, but it was something he was aiming for.

"Seriously, Sirius, every time." Harry said.

"Hey, unlike you and Remus here, I intend to get a nice New Years kiss, and hopefully more from one of the fine ladies that will no doubt be in attendance."

"Let's go." Remus said, as he led them to the door. Dobby wished them a good evening, and within a few minutes they walked outside of the fidelius charm barriers that surrounded the house, and took a portkey to the designated area outside of the Delacour grounds.

The grounds were darkening with the setting sun, but the Delacour mansion was lit up like a beacon in the twilight. Harry could see groups of people walking up towards the large, open doors.

Harry, Remus, and Sirius all walked across the immaculate grounds and through the doorway into the party.

Sirius smiled appreciatively as he looked up and around the large living hall. There were dozens of people already there, and Harry could see the ugly looking vulture hat in the crowd, which no doubt belonged to Longbottom.

The hall was well decorated for the new year, and there was food and drinks being served throughout the hall. Overall there was no doubt the home was much larger than Potter Manor.

Fleur, and her little sister were standing in the middle of the room with what Harry guess was Mrs. and Mr. Delacour

"Good evening!" Mr. Delacour called to them as they approached.

Harry, Remus, and Sirius all introduced each other to the Delacours. Apolline was exceptionally beautiful, and much taller than Monsieur Delacour, but his kind nature and presence made up for what he lacked in height.

Fleur gave him a small smile, for which Harry returned before Sirius stepped in.

"Ms. Delacour, I have heard great things about you from Harry here-"

Gabrielle, Fleur's sister cut in proudly, "Oui, ahnd she iz going to win."

"Gabrielle!" Apolline, and Fleur exclaimed in unison.

Apolline looked at Harry apologetically "I am so very sorry, she is quite young, and-"

Harry chuckled, "That's not a problem," He responded in French. Both Apolline and Monsieur Delacour, looked surprised that he spoke the language.

Monsieur Delacour then said to Harry in French, "I read your quotes in the newspaper, your quotes about Fleur were very kind."

"All true, I assure you." Harry replied, and Apolline smiled at him.

"Have you met Lucas Chevalier, Fleur's boyfriend?" Monsieur Delacour asked, as Lucas approached.

"They met at the Ball papa." Fleur responded for Harry. She looked slightly embarrassed for some reason.

"Indeed." Lucas added in a somewhat pretentious manner, as he shook hands with Harry with a smile. "It is nice to see you again Harry, the Ball was simply fantastic. I know Fleur and I had an absolutely lovely time."

Harry did is best to smile back. "I'm happy to hear that."

More people were entering the home, so Harry, Remus, and Sirius moved away from the host family.

"Pompous as fuck. I know back in our day James and I would have pranked him hard." Sirius said quietly as they walked away. "I bet we could get away-"

He was cut off by Remus who said, "We're not pranking the hosts Sirius."

"He's not a host Moony, he's an annoying boyfriend of the host's daughter, that makes him literally nothing."

Remus gave him a look, and Sirius shrugged. "Fine. Be boring in your advanced age."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle. "Come on, let's go score some free food and drink."

"Finally, a good idea!" Sirius said. "It'll give me time to look for the most beautiful women."

Remus rolled his eyes.

Within a few minutes they had received some plates of food from the house elves, and champagne. They stood towards the side of the hall, which Sirius suggested to provide him with the best view of the attendee's.

Remus and Harry were being amused by Sirius' running commentary on the people at the party. Neville and his grandmother Augusta Longbottom had stopped by for a few minutes, which was a struggle for Harry and Sirius who both disliked Augusta.

Remus led the conversation, and thankfully Augusta -who was dragging along Neville- left to go speak to more English pureblood families, since apparently to her the French were "rather distasteful if you ask me."

" _We didn't_ " Sirius said under his breath so only Harry could hear.

After looking around Harry saw Emma had arrived, and he walked over and gave her a hug. "How are you." He asked softly.

"I'm okay. You left early the other night."

"I'm sorry, I messed up." Harry admitted, looking down at his feet.

She put a hand on his shoulder, and he looked back up at her.

"I know, I saw your exchange at the Ball, and it was all she could talk about since we got back to France. Actually, I think she's frustrated with herself too. She's just upset because she just doesn't understand what is going on with your life."

When Harry didn't respond to that, she went on, "You have to open yourself up to people eventually Harry-"

"So I should open up to Fleur?

"Just because she's seeing someone doesn't mean you can't be friends. You can't keep secrets from everyone Harry, they have a tendency to get out sooner or later."

Harry thought about the fact that he generally kept secrets from everyone, except for maybe Sirius and Remus. Either way, he decided to change the subject, "I saw you were having fun talking to Daphne."

Harry was surprised to see Emma blush a little. "She's coming tonight."

"I know."

At that moment, Alice stopped by as well, and introduced her parents. They were kind people, who were quick to comment on Harry's remarks to the papers, and congratulated him on doing so well in the first task.

Throughout the early evening as people continued to arrive, more than a few people Harry talked to brought up the newspaper stories. It certainly was a different experience from him. Even though he grew up with good press, he had learned it could be nasty at times. Yet, for the moment people were happy to meet the Hogwarts Champion, the one who had spoken kindly of Krum and Delacour.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After some time Harry went off to explore the house. It was open to visitors, and Harry decided to find a secluded balcony to smoke a cigarette. He was falling into that same poor disposition that he had felt in the morning. Although he was self-sufficient from an emotional stand-point, the way in which he had approached his conversation with Fleur had obviously not gone well.

Harry mentally cleared his head with some occlumency cycles. Whatever happened between himself and Fleur happened. He couldn't change the past, and the only way for him to improve on the situation was to improve his mood so he could be better in the future.

 _This place is massive_ , Harry thought to himself as he wandered the large halls to a wing of the building that was built with a large spiral staircase. The bannisters ran all the way down from the top floor, and Harry could hear giggling coming from above him. He admired the craftship that had gone into building this area of the house. Although Harry himself was no expert in architecture, he had to admire the vision.

As Harry was lost in thought as he passively listened to the continued giggling of a young girl, in that exact moment the giggle turning into a yell.

Harry looked up to see someone falling from the banister of the staircase high above, and before he could even think – before he could even draw his wand – Harry reached out with his hand instinctively. She continued to fall towards the ground, and all he could think in that moment was _no!_ Harry felt a rush within him seemingly starting from his very core, and goosebumps ran up his arm.

The girl stopped dead in mid air just a few feet from the ground in front of him.

"Gabrielle!" Harry supposed was Fleur's voice. Footsteps thundered down the stairs as Fleur came running around the last corner of the opulent spiral staircase. Harry let the small girl down to the ground slowly. He felt like he was in complete control of her, even though he had personally never done anything like that beforehand.

Fleur ran over to Gabrielle, who seemed in shock at falling off the banister.

"I… I… fell" Gabrielle said in surprised voice, with her face in Fleur's arms.

Fleur spoke so quickly and so quietly to Gabrielle, Harry couldn't quite understand what she said, but finally Fleur turned to see who had caught her sister from falling.

Fleur stood, and then said quietly, looking ashamed that she had been even the slightest bit involved in her sister nearly crashing into the ground from four stories in the air, "Zank you." She said in English.

"It's okay." Harry said, raising his hands. He walked over to the two girls, and bent down to check on Gabrielle, who was still quite shaken and sitting on the floor.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked softly to the young girl who looked so much like her sister.

Gabrielle nodded and then jumped up to hug Harry. "Merci." She said, "I couldn't even stop myself."

"That's okay." Harry said earnestly. "Are you hurt at all?"

"No… no I feel okay."

Harry nodded, and stood. He still felt a bit shocked from the whole experience. The girl seemed fine though, so Harry turned back to Fleur.

"How did it happen?" He asked calmly.

Fleur still looked slightly ashamed. "We like to slide down the banister to the staircase. Mama always tells us not to… obviously we will not do so again."

Gabrielle looked down at her feet guiltily.

"Ah, I see. Well I am glad I was in the right place at the right time…."

"Should we go back to the party?" Fleur ventured.

Harry shrugged, and the three of them walked back to the noise of the large hall.

Harry could see Sirius talking to some women in the corner of the room, and they seemed to be enjoying listening to whatever story he was telling. Lucas was with some elderly wizards, Daphne was in a deep conversation with Emma, and Alice had met up with the Durmstrang student who had taken her to the Ball.

Gabrielle had ran off, and it became abundantly clear that Harry and Fleur were the only two people not engaged in a conversation.

"Should we get some Champagne?" Harry asked.

Fleur smiled at him with an appreciate look, "Please."

They picked up two glasses from one of the wandering elves, and then Harry asked, "Can you direct us to the nearest outdoor area?"

"Sure." Fleur led Harry to a doorway around a corner, and soon they were out on a terrace that looked over the backyard. It was surprisingly warm, and Harry assumed there was some sort of heating charm placed on it to keep the guests comfortable. Harry put his drink on the railing, and leaned forward onto it, resting his arms. Fleur came up to stand next to him – rather closely – Harry noted.

"So, how are things? Happy to be home with your family?" Harry asked softly.

"Oui." She looked down with a smile on her face, before glancing back up at him. "I missed everyone. Although they are family, and I can grow tired of their personalities sometimes, I still love them very much."

"That's what family is for." Harry said, smiling too, thinking of his family situation with Sirius and Remus.

"Are those two your uncles or something?" Fleur asked.

Harry chuckled. "Sort of. Sirius is my godfather, and Remus Lupin, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is one of my dad's best friends from when they were in school. They raised me after my parents were killed by Voldemort."

"I see." Fleur said, non-verbally suggesting him to continue.

"I couldn't ask for better people. I can see why my dad trusted them so much. I can trust them with almost anything…."

They enjoyed a few moments of silence as they looked over the large estate.

"This is a beautiful place to have grown up."

Fleur nodded as she took another sip from her glass. She smiled as if remembering a specific memory, "I used to play hide-and-seek from the house-elves in the grounds before Gabrielle was born. They would always let me win just about until it was time for dinner." She laughed, and Harry smiled.

"Hey… um." Harry started, "I'm sorry about the Ball. I shouldn't have been so cross with you. That wasn't fair."

Fleur nodded, and faced him before answering sincerely, "Thank you for apologizing Harry, and I should apologize too. It was clearly a personal matter, and I didn't have a right to demand an answer from you."

"I'm just… " Harry struggled with deciding how exactly to explain his feelings, "I just struggle with opening up to people, and as I have become more entrenched with my situation it just seems harder and harder to imagine myself trying to share this burden with anyone else. I tell myself it wouldn't be fair to put them in unnecessary danger."

Fleur looked at him with a soft look of pity. "Why did you enter the Triwizard Tournament then?"

Harry put his glass down, and tried to remember the rush of emotions that ran through him as he decided to enter the event. "Vanity." He said.

Fleur looked mildly shocked at his answer, and then burst out laughing. "Really?"

Harry smiled too. "Yeah. I dunno. I just wanted to… prove myself so people could see me be me, and not some kid who survived a killing curse. Why did you enter?"

Fleur blushed, and Harry couldn't help but find it rather cute.

Fleur continued to look away for a moment before responding. "You know, Lucas and I haven't been this dream couple people make it out to be."

Whatever Harry was expecting for an answer, it wasn't this.

"We had broken up for most of this year, and during that time he was seeing someone else. Yet, I remember he told me a story the night we got back together, before I left for Hogwarts. He was telling me this story of how some animals always return home no matter the challenges... and I just felt it was right to continue to try. He's my first, and so far my only.

"When I decided to go to Hogwarts, and submit my name for Triwizard Tournament, we had been broken up. I don't think I would have done it if we had stayed together. In that moment I thought it was a good way to give myself a challenge to prove to everyone that I am not just some doll to be paraded around."

She turned back, and looked him straight in the eye, "When you heard me talk about not fitting to my dress for the Ball that one night after dinner, I was mortified, because even allowing one moment of vanity to slip through makes me feel weak."

"It seems we participated in this tournament for very different reasons then." Harry responded, interested in her reaction.

"No," She said. "I don't think so. You said it yourself to the reporters. We're all there to prove something. And to be honest, I don't think you did it just for vanity, Harry."

Harry smiled slightly, but didn't respond, and so Fleur decided to take over the conversation. "So, I heard that you were dating a girl last year."

Harry smiled slightly. "Indeed…. We didn't last."

"Why not?"

"She didn't… I wasn't." Harry struggled again to find exactly where to start. "She wanted something that I could not give. She always wanted more out of me, and I wasn't able to give it to her. I wasn't able to open up and tell her how I felt, and as the relationship progressed, her image of who I was changed to the point where it wasn't recognizable. It was mostly my fault because I wasn't open."

"That seems to be a reoccurring theme with you." Fleur said with a light smile. There wasn't any frustration this time around, and so Harry smiled too.

"Maybe I'll change."

"It would have to be for someone special, no?"

Harry nodded, and responded quietly, "Someone very special indeed."

At that moment the door opened, and someone called Fleur inside. Fleur smiled apologetically, and put a hand on his shoulder for a moment before walking back inside.

Harry turned back to the dark grounds, and picked a cigarette absentmindedly from his pocket, and lit it with a snap of his finger.

The door opened again, and Fleur moved quickly back out to him, and grabbed her empty glass of Champagne she had left on the banister. She paused when she noticed Harry had a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"Really, 'Arry? Cigarettes?" She asked, pointing her glass at him.

"Why did you come back for your glass?" Harry asked.

"Well I don't want to make a mess for the house elves, they work hard enough as it is."

Harry chuckled, and shook his head.

"What? You disagree?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"No, actually, I cannot agree more." Harry said evenly.

Fleur paused for a moment and then smiled softly, before her face took on a more mischievous look. She grabbed the cigarette, and took a swift drag, before throwing it on the ground, pulling out her wand, and vanishing it.

"Cigarettes are bad for you." She started walking back towards the door, before turning around quickly and winking at him before heading through the door.

"Alright then." Harry said bemusedly to no-one before turning back to look over the dark grounds.

Harry looked down at his watch and saw it was already 11:50 pm. He too picked up his champagne glass before heading back into the party.

He exchanged his glass for a new one, and walked back into the New Years party. Nearly everyone was mingling in the center of the room now, as the clock on the wall made its way to midnight.

Harry spotted Remus chatting with some people who moved away towards the main group as he approached.

"So, how is Sirius managing?" Harry asked.

"It appears he has succeeded in his endeavor." Remus intoned as he sipped on his glass of champagne. "Of course, I was actually more interested in your discussion with Ms. Delacour."

Harry smiled a little, "Always observant I see."

"You two were the only ones missing from the party, so I assumed."

Harry nodded. "I didn't argue with her this time."

"Well that's a step in the right direction. You are much quicker than your father in that way."

"Are you and Sirius colluding?"

Remus smiled, "No, but it is very similar."

"Lovely." Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"I forgot to tell you. It seems Dumbledore is planning to have some joint classes with the other institutions. From our rough plans we will have Beauxbatons students and Hogwarts students sharing Defense classes for a few weeks."

Harry's eyebrows rose. "That should be interesting."

Remus nodded. "It will be. I will have to look into what sort of lessons I can plan in accordance to their curriculum."

"I can help you if you would like."

Remus smiled appreciatively. "That would be great, we can work on it when we have some free time."

The crowd started to become more talkative as the seconds counted down. Harry and Remus suspended their conversation as midnight approached.

"Five, Four, Three, Two, One!"

Harry saw Sirius kissing one of the girls he had been talking too. He saw Emma and Daphne hug each other. His heart lurched as he saw Lucas give Fleur a light kiss. And then the attack ensued.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: I own nothing, JK Rowling owns all the things

A/N: I'm back from my year hiatus. I found inspiration to revisit this story. I still like how I have the entire story planned, and I feel that it's important I give this another go.

Thanks to the people who reviewed/followed/liked. All those lovely notifications went to my email, and I was constantly reminded that people enjoyed this story.

Finally, I want to especially thank those who PM'd me over this year long hiatus, it meant a lot.

As always, mistakes are my own.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry saw them before everyone else. While the other guests were enjoying their small moments with their loved ones, Harry's focus was drawn to movement coming from the edge of the light in the expansive backyard. At first he thought he was simply imagining things, but then he saw it: dozens of individuals were running quickly up to the patio, and before he could even react, the floor-to-ceiling windows exploded from a bombardment spell.

People started screaming, and began running for the front doors. Harry's first thought was to make sure people were safe, so he threw up a myriad of shield spells before turning to face his first opponent. People began vanishing all around Harry as others pulled out their wands to face the oncoming death eaters.

Before he could choose his spot in the battle he was locked into a heated fight with a masked male death eater who was throwing dark curses around with impunity. Thankfully, like the majority of death eaters they focused primarily on unforgivable, and lacked the originality of a truly competent wizard.

" _Crucio!"_ The masked wizard yelled aiming at Harry's chest.

Harry deftly blocked it, before sending back a series of silent _Reducto!_

The wizard blocked the first spell, but was he couldn't block the stunner, followed by _Deprimo!_ Which sent him flying across the room.

Although Harry focused on holding back his significant power in Hogwarts, dispatching death eaters was no place for limiting himself. Before the next death eater could turn and present a real challenge, he had already smashed him from behind with a levitated spare table. He turned, and quickly dispatched an inexperienced death eater who had unfortunately turned towards him a few moments too late.

Despite his ability to quickly dispatch three infiltrators, things weren't going well. The party was holistically unprepared for the onslaught, and there were more than a few bodies on the ground. Harry quickly sent a body binding hex across the hall to ease the pressure on Sirius before helping Monsieur Delacour take down another death eater. Yet, Harry knew things were heading in the wrong direction. He felt relaxed as he danced through a series of dark hexes. Apolline and others had helped get people away, but the attack had been well planned. At this rate, the remaining individuals who had put themselves on the line to protect their fellow guests were not going to survive.

His stomach lurched when he turned again to see Fleur locked in a heated one-on-one battle. A cutting curse nearly ended her life, and he couldn't stop himself from sending a powerful blasting hex, which sent her opponent through one of the remaining windows.

An anger was growing within him from which he knew power laid. As more, and more guests began retreating towards the exit throwing up more shields than offensive spells he knew the battle was lost.

With little thought, he turned his wand to the ceiling and sent the most powerful blasting curse he could muster.

The spell shook the very foundations of the chateaux, and debris which hadn't been blasted across the large grounds fell into the hall, quickly separated any semblance of a fight. Both friend and foe ran for the exit as large chunks of the ceiling fell onto what remained of the dance floor. Yet Harry did not move, he knew that he was safe. His focus was turned to a lone standing death eater who had been able to protect herself.

He walked up to her slowly as the dust hung in the air. He knew they were alone between the wreckage.

She sent a killing curse at him, but he simply deflected it by levitating a piece of the fallen stone, and before she could react, he crossed the few remaining feet between them and grabbed her wrist and snapper her arm away. He brought he wand to her neck, and melted the mask away with a silent spell.

"Alecto Carrow" Harry said, without surprise.

"Potter" She sneered "Not a child anymore now, are you? Surprised to find me alive?"

Harry couldn't help himself and grabbed her by the neck, using his magic to lift her from the ground. Her eyes widened in surprise at his magical outburst. "Not particularly," Harry said calmly, "I'd knew scum like you would always crawl back when the time came."

"What are you going to do, kill me?" she asked with a manic expression as he slowly choked the life out of her.

"Unfortunately, that is not how our side does things." Harry whispered. He wanted to kill her, he needed it. But, he knew it would do little to appease his malevolence. So, he dropped her onto the ground and kicked her, knocking the wind out of her.

"Expect this to be the first of a series of defeats for you, Carrow."

She sneered "Weak. Just like your parents before you."

Harry smirked as he felt the power in his hands boiling just beneath the surface. Yet, he knew that this was simply one battle in the war. He couldn't allow himself to put all his cards on the table, he was not Tom Riddle. If indeed Voldemort would return, he needed every advantage. A small show of force was not a real problem. He had already shown himself to be the strongest in this small skirmish.

"Run Alecto. Run far, far away from here. You're going to need the head start."

He clenched his fist right as her hand reached out for her wand, and it splintered into a thousand pieces.

Her face told the story, as she looked up at him from the destroyed hall with true fear, before stumbling to her feet and running for the grounds.

He let her run. Even though a part of him sincerely wanted to kill her, he knew sending word that he was powerful, but too afraid to kill would be handy down the line. It felt strange letting an enemy escape, but he felt it in his bones that it was the right thing to do, and a part of him knew that if he intervened, the balance of the war would turn to Voldemort's favor.

He turned to see that he was indeed alone. He sighed, and began moving the larger pieces of stone away to bring himself back to the guests. More importantly, he wanted to check on Sirius, Remus, and Fleur.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Sirius, Remus, and Harry were sitting at a table in a spacious room with a warm fire alit in the prominent fireplace. They had found a series of bottles of wine and were not holding back.

"How the fuck did she worm her way from going to Azkaban again? Isn't she supposed to be on probation, and not able to leave the country?" Sirius asked rather viciously as he downed his seventh glass of wine since they entered the room.

"How did the ministry not tell anyone?" Remus asked. He had not drunk as much, but they were all still feeling the effects of the battle. Harry supposed there was no other real way to deal with the aftermath of a battle without a heavy dose of escapism. He had even smoked a few cigarettes without his godfather's complaint.

"Whatever the reason, the Ministry is no longer an ally" Harry said, as he stood, and walked towards the fire, allowing it to warm his legs.

"That just doesn't seem right." Sirius said earnestly "They're too important for us to not utilize."

"What else do you expect Sirius? Fudge is completely incompetent." Harry stated.

"But regardless of leadership, we're going to need them-"

"The Order got by without the Ministry before." Remus cut in.

"But are we already at the point where the Order needs to be called?" Sirius asked with a pained expression.

Harry knew the quested was loaded. The last time the Order was called upon his parents had been killed.

"This is only the beginning."

All three men turned to see that Monsieur Delacour had walked into the room.

Remus and Sirius stood, but Monsieur Delacour waved to them to sit.

"Please." He said simply, and the three men returned to their seats.

Remus, Sirius, and Harry sat in silence as Monsieur Delacour walked across the room and took the remaining seat. He conjured a cup, and filled it nearly to the brim with wine. He grabbed a cigarette from Harry's pack that was sitting on the table and took a deep drag, followed by a deep sip of wine. He sighed deeply. He looked ten years older than the man who had greeted them so jovially just a few hours prior.

"We were lucky tonight." He said in perfect English. "No deaths on either side. The French Aurors and medical individuals assessed, and repaired the damage. Although few of our guests needed some medical attention, nobody was seriously injured."

"An anomaly." Remus said softly.

"Indeed". Monsieur Delacour said. "All of the death eaters escaped as well. My friends in the government say that they had help sneaking into the country. Overall it is incredibly unsurprising. Of course, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would have sympathizers remaining in the French government. Hell, there are still those who support that muggle Hitler behind closed doors." He put his glass down hard against the wooden table.

"I am sorry,' Harry said softly "It is most likely due to my attendance we drew their attention-"

"Nonsense Mister Potter, any enemy of a fascist is a friend to me. I couldn't care less the reason behind it. All I care about is that I am on the _right_ side. Besides, I invited many who are enemies of French Death-Eater sympathizers."

Harry nodded, although not completely convinced.

"Some of my guests tell me you were on the other side of the rubble for some time." He asked surveying Harry through the smoke emanating from the cigarette.

"I apologize for damaging the chateaux" Harry said quietly.

"It means nothing, it was repaired in a matter of minutes, and without your quick thinking, we would certainly be mourning the death of more than a few friends" He responded quickly in French. "That was one of the most powerful piece of magic I have ever seen in my entire life."

"Thank you sir. But I am far away from where I need to be." Harry said quietly in French, so that Remus and Sirius would not understand.

"My daughter seems to think quite highly of you." Monsieur Delacour said, ignoring Harry's statement, and looking at him with deep concentration.

At that moment, before Harry could respond, the door opened again, and Apolline Delacour, Fleur, and Gabrielle walked into the room.

Gabrielle ran and jumped into Harry arms and hugged him tightly. She put her head into his chest and said, "Merci."

In that moment Harry didn't really know how to respond, and so he just hugged her back. He put his face into her head, and before he could stop himself, a single tear fell from his face into her hair. Gabrielle didn't feel it, but Harry knew he would do everything in his power to make sure he never put the Delacour family into harm's way again, if he could help it.

With the news that Alice, Emma, Neville, Daphne and their respective families had managed to escape the fighting, Harry couldn't help but feel that they had dodged a bullet. It felt strange to know how close they were to having a tragic event on their hand, and the result in them all surviving relatively unharmed felt like the exception to the rule.

When the Delacours, Harry, Sirius, and Remus emerged from the enclave, they walked in relative silence. Monsieur Delacour was carrying a sleeping Gabrielle, and Harry was walking with Fleur in the back of the group.

"So is this what it will be like going forward?" Fleur asked.

Harry didn't want to scare her, but nonetheless, this sort of thing was exactly what he was expecting to begin to occur on a more regular basis. The Death Eaters could feel a changing in the winds, and with that came confidence.

"I think it will only get worse from here." He said truthfully.

"Well we will be here to fight if need be." Fleur said confidently.

Harry didn't have an answer to that. In fact, what he wanted to do was to keep Fleur and the Delacours far away from whatever was going to be coming down the pipeline, but he couldn't think of a better way to answer than to placate her.

"We would be lucky to have you." He said quietly, while Fleur gave him a look.

By now they had fallen back from the group, and were out of earshot.

"The next task requires us to swim underwater for some time." She said quietly.

Harry turned to her fully with a look of surprise, and stopped in the hallway "Why are you telling me that?"

"Because you helped me with the first task." She said. "That makes us even."

Harry looked at her for another moment, before turning and walking down the hallway again. "Well, thank you. I appreciate that."

"You already know!" She said suddenly when she saw his expression, catching his arm.

Harry smiled slightly, but didn't say anything.

"Merde!" She cursed quietly. "Well then we are not even."

"It's the sentiment that counts." Harry said.

She laughed and shook her head at him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

By the time that Harry, Sirius, and Remus finally left the Delacours, it was already mid-afternoon in the New Year. Gabrielle had insisted on giving Harry another hug when she had woken up from her slumber, and Apolline had – with the help for the house elves – provided them with an excellent meal.

Lucas had stopped by later in the morning with his account of the events from the evening prior. Apparently, he had run to get to the French Aurors office to alert them of an attack, yet Fleur had seemed less than amused with him leaving the fight. Monsieur Delacour also treated Lucas with far less warmth, and Sirius had given Harry multiple looks that screamed 'look at that!', for which Harry pointedly ignored.

When they returned to the Manor, Harry made his way to his room, and sat on his back patio to watch the sunset. One of the house elves brought him a glass of wine, and he lit a cigarette. He tried to quell his mind, but his thoughts drifted between Voldemort, the second task, Fleur, and a myriad of other topics.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rest of the break went by without anything truly interesting occurring. Harry, Sirius, and Remus had dueled a few times, he finished his homework, and continued to study up on new spells. Yet, before he knew it, he was back on the Hogwarts Express.

He had gone to Kings Cross alone due to Remus needing to return to Hogwarts earlier, and Sirius meeting with some colleagues at the Leaky Cauldron.

He moved through the train as it took off from the station until he found Neville alone in one of the compartments.

Neville looked up in surprise at the compartment door opening until he saw that it was Harry.

"Hey Nev." Harry said, as he took a seat.

"Hey Harry, I didn't think you would take the Hogwarts Express."

"Ah well, it's for the nostalgia." Harry said smiling.

They rode to Hogwarts in relative silence. They talked briefly about the attack at the Delacour Estates, and Neville recounted how he and his grandmother had been one of the first to escape due to their proximity to the exit.

As they approached Hogwarts, Harry changed into his robes, and attached his Prefects badge to his uniform. He had mostly skirted his duties as a prefect, which likely resulted in him not becoming Head Boy like his father. Yet, it was fitting that Cedric was appointed the positon. He was probably the true champion of the school if it wasn't for the fact that Harry was an anomaly.

When Harry and Neville sat down for the return feast, Remus was already sitting up at the head table. There was a general congenial chatter in the air between the three schools even with the news of the attack at the Delacour Chateaux, especially since it was in a different country. Despite the general relaxed air emanating from the student body, the professors and tournament guests' body language suggested otherwise.

Neville brought him out of his ravine when he asked, "So do you know what you will have to deal with in the Second Task."

Harry took a sip from his goblet before responding, "Yeah, I have to breathe underwater for quite some time. I was thinking I could just use a bubble head charm and propulsion spells."

"You could use gillyweed." Neville said.

Neville now had Harry's full attention, "Gillyweed? How do you know about gillyweed?"

"Moody gave me a book called _Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean_ at the end of last semester."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he had approached me in the hallway on one of the last days, and said that he had heard that I liked Herbology. He was really nice about it."

"Hmm. Yes, that is nice of him." Harry said absentmindedly as he looked up at the staff table to see Moody take a swig from his ever-present flask.

Harry turned back to Neville and said, "Well, gillyweed would be a good choice. It would probably allow me to operate in a quicker fashion, but there is the risk of it running out while I'm under there."

"True, that would be the risk." Neville said.

"Yes, and resurfacing and applying the bubblehead charm would be annoying if I operated outside of one hour. What would you do?" Harry asked.

"Me? Well I uh- I mean, you don't need my opinion."

"I'm asking."

"I'd… probably go with the gillyweed if you want to give yourself the best chance to win - but that means you have to go to Professor Snape." He sounded scared of the prospect of asking the mercurial professor.

Harry smirked, "You think he will help a Gryffindor?"

"No, but he'd probably help you."

Harry nodded. He didn't feel like utilizing his minimal good will he had built up with Snape over the past years, but obtaining gillyweed would indeed by helpful. He was certain that Moody had given Neville that book to make sure Harry would find out about gillyweed, but he couldn't figure out why. He had known Moody for most of his life, and he was friendly with Sirius and Remus, yet he didn't seem like the sort to help Harry out.

Regardless, it was a thought that would have to be saved for a more appropriate time. Dumbledore stood up and addressed the students from the three schools, "Good evening." He said kindly with a warm tone. "It is a pleasure to have you all return for the next semester."

"Now," He continued. "I know that there has been some troubling news over the break with the attack in France. I just want to assure you that we will continue to take our security with the utmost importance. If you have any concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to our staff. With that said, I want to remind everyone that even in the darkest of moments, we must always remember the importance of unity. This semester we will have some more joint classes for the older students, along with other events where we can all come together as a group. Additionally, the Second Task will be held towards the later part of February, which I can assure you will be a treat. Now, I'm sure you will all want to get a nice rest before classes begin, so I will wish you all a good night."

The students began leaving the tables, and heading to their respective dormitories. Harry saw Fleur, Emma, and Alice walk towards the main entrance as the headed towards their carriage. Harry was uncertain where he and Fleur stood, but it was better than before. He brushed his hand through his hair, and followed the rest of the Gryffindor's up towards their part of the castle, mostly ignoring the energetic first years.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day was the first day of joint lessons, which Harry thought would be interesting due to the fact that he would garner a better understanding of the knowledge level of the other champions and students.

Harry arrived relatively early to class, and took his customary seat in the front. Remus smiled at him, and he welcomed students as they filtered in from lunch. Krum had come into the classroom with the rest of the Durmstrang contingent, and gave Harry a small nod before leading his classmates to the seats in the back of the room. Harry nodded back before turning his attention back to the parchment in front of him. Although he probably didn't need to, he still enjoyed setting up his parchment for any note taking that might be necessary throughout the course.

"Hello 'Arry." Harry turned to see Fleur taking the seat next to him.

Harry smiled at her, and asked in French, "Hey, how are you?"

"Good, I am looking forward to having a course from a Hogwarts professor." She said lightly, while tying her hair back in a ponytail. "And to see who is the better student."

Harry couldn't stop himself from smirking. "Competitive, aren't we?"

"With you? Of course." She said smiling too.

"How is your family?"

"They're doing well. Gabrielle cannot stop talking about you now. It seems you've won over my family. We thought that maybe Gabrielle would be scared after the attack, but since the house is back to normal, and since she now thinks you will always save her, she is not afraid."

Harry was about to respond, but was ultimately cut off with the beginning of the class.

"Well well, it seems we have a full class today. No problem though, I am sure we will manage just fine. I have to say I am quite excited to have you all here today." Remus said congenially.

"Now, I was thinking to myself, what would be a good lesson for you all, considering that you all have had different curriculum and different teachers I could not quite settle on one particular spell or curse, or magical creature to discuss. So I was thinking, instead of having a normal lecture I thought it might be interesting to have a group discussion about magic in general."

Remus walked up to the large chalkboard and wrote down the question, "What makes something 'Dark'?"

"What makes something 'dark'?" He reiterated to the class.

There was silence for a few moments before a Durmstrang student inquired from the back of the class, "Vell, Zere are dark spells, such az, The Killing Curse, and other unforgivables."

"Yes, good." Remus said, "That is correct, and why are these spells considered dark?"

"Becuze zey hurt people." Alice said from the seat behind Fleur and Harry.

"Exactly." Remus said, "But let's dig a little deeper, what is consistent with all dark spells?"

"Intent." Harry said, somewhat quietly when nobody else spoke.

Remus nodded. "Intent. That's what I want us to focus on today. We've probably all learned that 'you've got to mean it!' when you use an unforgiveable curse for it to work properly, right?." Remus said, as he paced around the front of the room. "But, what does that mean for other curses and hexes that are considered to be less unforgiveable, even if they can do the same, or even worse damage?"

The room was silent. Nobody had an adequate answer.

"Exactly. There's no answer to this. Many witches and wizards deserve to be in Azkaban for using spells we would consider forgivable. We've probably all had ill intent with a particular spell, so does that not make us all 'dark' to some degree?"

"No! I mean, I know that there have been moments when I've probably put more force behind a spell due to a negative feeling, but that doesn't make us the same as Death Eaters." A Hufflepuff stated.

"So then it comes down to a matter of perception of what is acceptable, and what is not?" Remus asked.

Nobody disagreed.

"Well, I expect to see a foot scroll on the topic by next Monday. I don't expect anything too structured. I just want to see your thoughts on the subject. There is no need for citations unless you feel they enhance your argument.

"So, for the second part of this course, I would like set up some duels. Now that we have sort of started the intellectual discussion, a solid display of magic should tie this class together quite well. So, please, some volunteers?" Remus said, looking over the class.

Krum raised his hand, stood, and walked to the front of the classroom. There was a small platform upon which Remus' desk rested that would serve as a stage for the first duel. Angelina from Gryffindor also volunteered, and soon the two were facing off. Harry assumed this was Angelina's way of seeing if she had what it took to compete on the same level as the other Champions.

"Now, I expect a fair fight. I will intervene if there is any foul play. The goal is to stun your opponent, but how you get there is up to your ingenuity." Remus said, as the two students bowed to each other.

Krum went on the offensive immediately. Something that was unsurprising to Harry. He just hoped Angelina expected it as well.

"Stupify!" Krum yelled as his powerful spell shot out of one of Gregorovitch's last wands.

Within a few more spells from Krum, Angelina was already taking steps backwards under the barrage. She didn't have time to get back on the offensive, and within a few more seconds, she had lost.

Fleur gave him a look of surprise and apprehension. Yet, Harry was not as impressed. It wasn't that Angelina was incapable, it was that she never had a chance to get on the offensive.

"Very well done Mr. Krum. A solid use of offensive spellwork. Would you care to take on another challenger?"

Krum nodded after shaking hands with Angelina.

"I'll go." Harry said, standing slowly.

Fleur gave him an apprehensive look, and Harry smiled at her softly.

He walked to the front of the class and bowed to Krum. Harry expected his heart rate to pick up, like it did in normal fights, but apparently he couldn't muster it.

Krum started off on the offensive once again, and Harry allowed it, content with blocking Krum's progressively dangerous spells with ease. Krum was talented, and well taught, but he was no match for the average Death Eater, and absolutely no challenge for Harry.

When Krum attempted another strong stunning spell, He sent it right back at the Durmstrang champion with more force that Krum was expecting, and without pushing himself, Krum was on the ground completely out-cold.

The class was silent as they watched Harry win without using a spell other than _protego_.

Remus walked over and revived Krum, who looked at Harry with an assessing view. The other Durmstrang students looked stunned that Krum had lost without a real fight. Apparently, they had never seen Krum lose a duel.

"Well. That was indeed interesting, anyone else?"

"Me." Fleur said.

Harry was not surprised Fleur volunteered. He knew the moment he had volunteered that Fleur would want to challenge him. He was both intrigued by, and loathed the idea of dueling Fleur.

She readied herself on the small platform, and pulled out her wand. She bowed slightly to Harry, and Harry bowed back.

Fleur initiated the duel, and sent a silent stunner at him, which he side stepped, sending a body binding curse back, which she blocked.

They began dueling at a much slower pace than when he faced Krum. Harry was still feeling Fleur's skills out, and Fleur was looking for a weakness. Unfortunately for Fleur, while she was skilled, she did not have the same patience as Harry, and began opening herself up for counter-attacks.

Harry avoided taking advantage, as he blocked progressively more aggressive spellwork. It felt like a no-win situation for him. He didn't want to show what he was capable of, but he also didn't want her to think he didn't respect her as an opponent. He contemplated taking one of her stunners, but part of him knew the best path was to win.

He blocked her next stunner instead of taking the loss, sidestepped the jelly-legs curse, and started crossing the divide between them. When he finally got into close-range striking distance, he deflected her final point-black stunner.

He reached out and knocked the wand from her hand, stunned her, caught her from falling, and revived her within a second. He summoned her wand to his free hand, and handed it back to her, before walking back to his seat, and sat down.

She stared at him for a moment from the stage, while the class looked on with relative shock.

Remus walked to the center of the room, as Fleur, with a still shocked look walked from the stage and sat next to him again without looking at him. As attention moved back to Remus he said, "Well, that was two compelling duels by four strong witches and wizards. It's always good to see such great talent on display. I think everyone can agree that they might have learned something new from it. I know I did. That's why I think dueling, and watching duels are a great way to improve as a spell caster. We saw a great offensive strategy from Mr. Krum, a good series of defensive spells from Angelina, great footwork and strength from Ms. Delacour, with the overall victory going to Harry.

"I hope everyone can see where they may improve from seeing how these duels worked out. Now, I believe that is where class will end today. I expect to see your homework completed by next week, but since this was more of a fun class, I want to reiterate that I don't expect too much work on your end with the homework, just your general thoughts will suffice." Remus finished with a smile, and students started walking out. Remus gave Harry a small glance, but Harry was already headed for the door with a small sigh.

He was only a few paces from the door when Fleur brushed past him with a look of anger and frustration, " _You didn't even try_." She hissed at him before walking off down the hallway alone.

It hit home harder than Harry expected.

He took a detour from the main hallway, and proceeded down quiet pathway that led one of the dozens of small balconies, and when he opened the door to it, he felt a rush of cold air. He conjured a chair, and sat down. He took off his glasses, and put his head in his hands for a moment, before digging out a cigarette and casting a warming charm.

He chided himself for volunteering in the first place. He knew he could beat Krum easily, so he didn't _have_ to go out of his way to prove it. It was instant karma. Beat Krum, duel Fleur. It was an issue he had dealt with his entire time at Hogwarts, he was talented, powerful, and always had to hold back unless he was dueling Sirius, or Remus. Even now, he easily surpassed both Sirius, and Remus, yet he knew they were nothing compared to Voldemort. So how was he supposed to harness this power he felt growing within him almost daily, when his equals were a perpetually shorter, and shorter list? He was used to the alienation from his classmates, but having Fleur get mad at him refreshed that feeling of solitude. He wondered how many times Riddle had felt that isolation during his time at Hogwarts.

He pitched the last of the cigarette over the balcony, and he stood up, vanishing the chair. He looked over the massive drop to the courtyard below, and shivered despite the warming charm. He had read a compelling book recently which had touched on this very feeling. When one was standing on the edge of a precipice there were two kinds of people; people who were afraid of falling, and people who were afraid of jumping. He was firmly in the later of those two categories, which freaked him out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry walked down to the Great Hall, realizing full well that he was slightly early to dinner. As he made his way across the Entrance Hall, a girl ran up to him, and handed him a note.

 _Harry,_

 _Would you please join me in my office this evening after dinner?_

 _Best,_

 _Albus Dumbledore_

 _P.S. In winter I very much prefer to avoid Ice Mice_

Harry smiled at the Headmaster's choice of a password, and place the note in his pocket before heading over for dinner. He ate a brief meal with Dennis, Neville, and the twins before excusing himself early.

Dumbledore was still at the head table talking to McGonagall, and he assumed the headmaster wouldn't mind him staying in his office before he got there.

When he said the password to the gargoyles, he half expected for them to not allow him up without the Headmaster present, but they simply parted, and Harry soon entered the warm, and well-lit office.

He walked over to pet Fawkes, who acknowledged him with a warm trill.

The office was quiet, except for the crackling of the fire, and noises emanating from the trinkets haphazardly placed around the room.

Harry knew he had at least a few minutes before the headmaster arrived, and instead of relaxing in the chair, he made his way to one of the headmasters' portraits. They were all very much awake, and would most assuredly provide interesting banter, but Harry was seeking out one individual in particular.

"Headmaster Black." Harry said, as he approached the portrait in question.

"Mr. Potter." Phineas Nigellus Black responded, looking at him questioningly.

"I wanted to have a word before Dumbledore arrived."

"And what, pray tell would be such discussion that would need to take place without your headmaster's presence?"

Harry pulled out his wand, and cast some spells so that the other headmasters and headmistresses would not be able to hear, which made Phineas quirk an eyebrow.

"Interestingly enough," Harry began, I had spent some time in France this past summer, in Carcassonne, to be specific."

Phineas, who had never been lost for words, looked stunned.

"I happened to have come across a specific version of _Secrets of the Darkest Art._ Now, who happened to have not only owned that specific version of _Secrets of the Darkest Art,_ but had expanded to portions of Bullock's work, but none other than Phineas Nigellus Black."

Phineas was still staring at Harry with shock, before finally responding, "This was well before my time as Headmaster. I swear that any of my transgressions in Carcassonne do not reflect upon-"

"Yes yes, that's all well and good." Harry said, pushing slightly, wary for the few moments they had left before the headmaster returned. "I know you didn't work on horcruxes, but others in that Sinthean Group did. So, I only ask this, what did they discover about destroying a horcrux in a living creature?"

Phineas was now looking at Harry with an assessing view, before saying, "To the best of our knowledge, only nine wizards successfully made a horcrux, and of that, only two used a living creature."

"Is there a way to destroy the horcrux without killing the creature?"

Phineas frowned. "No, that would be impossible."

Harry nodded.

"Why do you ask? Do you believe that Voldemort made a living creature into a horcrux?"

"Yes."

"Then just kill it, and be done with it. There's no need to protect whatever animal he used."

Harry nodded. "Thank you Phineas. I am sure we can come to an accord to never reveal this discussion to anyone else?"

"It would be mutually beneficial I believe. But why are you keeping things from Dumbledore on this topic?"

"All in due time, Phineas."

Before Phineas could complain about his use of the headmasters first name, he had pulled the spells at work right as Dumbledore entered the room.

When Dumbledore did enter the room, there was quite a commotion as multiple headmasters and headmistresses called out to complain about Harry's use of magic.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at Harry as he walked towards his desk. Harry shrugged and said, "Just discussing some private Black history, that's all."

Phineas nodded slightly. It was true. They had been discussing Black history, just a very brief section of it.

"And this needed to be done with silencing the other former heads?" Albus asked unperturbed.

"It may have been a _darker_ bit of Black history," Harry quibbled before taking a seat in the chair facing the headmaster.

Albus smiled slightly at the joke, but still seemed wary. Nonetheless, when Harry refused to go further, he must have decided to let the issue drop for the moment because he started again.

"I wanted to start by asking how you are Harry? I know all about the attack in France, and I apologize I wasn't there to assist in the fight."

"It's alright, we were exceptionally lucky to have not had any casualties. It was almost an anomaly, it certainly felt like one."

Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed, if it wasn't for your quick thinking to end the battle, I am afraid that we would not have been so lucky."

Harry nodded, but couldn't think of anything else to add.

"Well, I asked you here tonight, because we have three separate memories to review. Each should provide insight into other horcruxes that Tom created. The first is a memory from a house-elf who belonged to Hepzibah Smith. The second, one of mine, and the third, one of Horace Slughorn who I know you have met previously. I believe that each will provide a better understanding of some of the remaining horcruxes.

"Before we enter this specific memory, it is important to catch up on Riddles past. Riddle graduated from Hogwarts with top marks on his NEWTS, Head Boy, and with a promising career ahead of him. He asked Headmaster Dippet if he could stay on at Hogwarts, and teach as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"But he was only 18." Harry said.

"Indeed, and so he was asked to reapply at a later date, should his interest in the position remain. So with his primary career choice not available, instead of following a path of research, or politics, as many expected he decided to work for Borgin and Burkes."

"Hmm." Harry said. "That fits, considering his obsession with Slytherin ancestry."

"Indeed. I believe that obsession will prove to have been a weakness of Tom. Something I am sure you have figured out on your own. Yet, I believe that these memories should provide us a framework for the locations of more of the horcruxes, and an understanding of how many remain."

Harry nodded, and walked with the Headmaster over to the cabinet with the Pensive. Dumbledore dropped the first memory in, and they both dove in to the house-elfs memory.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When they re-emerged Harry had grown respect for Riddle in his capacity to be charming, and manipulative, but also mentally chastised him for his glaring weakness for both the locket and the cup.

Dumbledore and Harry walked back to their respective chairs and sat in silence for a moment.

"So, what happened after that?" Harry asked.

"She died two days later. Poisoned by Hokey."

"Really?" Harry asked skeptically, "So he tinkered with her memory."

"That was the conclusion I came to. Add in the fact that the Cup and Locket mysteriously disappeared, along with Tom for Borgin and Burkes. It's quite clear that Tom took those pieces and eventually turned them into horcruxes."

Harry nodded. "So that makes four."

"Indeed, now I have no idea where the Cup is located. It will probably be one of the harder ones to find." Dumbledore said, "But I think there is another one we will be able to find more easily. In fact, I believe you might be able to find it. I have been searching, but I have failed so far."

Albus poured the next memory into the pensive, and soon they were back into another one of the Headmaster's memories.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Interesting. Clearly he knew he would not receive the position. He was already known as Voldemort."

"Indeed," Dumbledore replied, as they stood next to the pensive. "That's why - at the time I had no idea - but now it seems clear that he would hide one of his horcruxes somewhere here at the school."

"Do you know what artifact he used?" Harry asked.

"Hmm. It is hard to say, but I would guess he got his hand on something from Ravenclaw, and the major artifact would most likely be the lost diadem of Ravenclaw. I am sure you are familiar with it?" Dumbledore asked.

"Of course." Harry said. "Well, if there is anyone that would find the diadem, it would be Riddle."

"My thoughts exactly. He knew asking me for the job as the Defense Against the Dark Arts job was useless, so he needed another motive to make the trip. Hiding the diadem would be as good as any motive. The question is where? I've looked all over." Dumbledore said, with some frustration.

"I'll look around." Harry said evenly. He knew of one place in particular that the Headmaster probably was unaware of.

Albus nodded. "Excellent. Maybe you will have more luck than me. Now, this last memory is from our dear friend Horace Slughorn. This was from when Tom was in his last year at Hogwarts, during one of Horace's mini parties he would throw for promising young students. If I remember correctly, both James and Lily attended them during their time at Hogwarts."

Xxxxxxxx

When they emerged from the memory Harry and Albus walked back to the center of the office before speaking again.

"So, as you can see, that memory was heavily, and hastily edited."

"Mmm." Harry said. He wasn't so much interested in Slughorns edits, but much more interested in Riddle's mannerisms, and interest in horcruxes."

"We need to see the rest of that memory, Harry." Dumbledore said, looking at him.

Harry met his eyes for a moment before saying, "I will get it."

"It won't be easy. This is a particularly difficult subject for Slughorn, and not something we can gain with force."

Harry nodded, and stood.

"You've given me plenty to think about. When the time is right, I will visit Horace and procure the memory. In the meantime I will search for the diadem. Hopefully we will be successful in both regards." Harry said.

"Dumbledore seemed slightly distracted. "Good. Well, I wish you a good evening Harry."

"Thank you sir, you too."

Harry walked out of the office, and checked his watch. It was nearly midnight, and he had lessons in the morning. He checked the map while walking up to his bed, but it seemed the hallways were all quiet. Harry had felt down all day since the lessons with Fleur, and with the news from Phineas that there would be no easy out with one of the remaining horcruxes, he was feeling downright sad for himself.

When he finally returned to his bed, he couldn't help but let out a loud sigh, before turning over and falling asleep. It had not been a good day.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The following morning Harry sat at the breakfast table alone. He was already on his second cup of coffee before most of the students had arrived. He was scanning the various headlines of the Daily Prophet, but the majority of news was rather anti-climactic. Nothing new in regards to the attack in France, and no real acknowledgement that Death Eaters were becoming bolder in their attacks.

When Harry had finished breakfast, he walked out into the Entrance Hall. Many students were milling about since it was too cold to be in the Courtyard. Harry spotted Daphne and Emma sitting together on a bench along the far wall, and walked over to meet them.

"Hey," Daphne said kindly as he approached.

"Ca va?" Emma asked, while looking up at him.

"Ah, well. I've been better." Harry admitted, taking a seat next to them, leaning up against the wall.

"Yeah, we know." Emma said. "Don't worry Harry, it's just Fleur. She gets competitive, and she doesn't want you to treat her like a lesser opponent."

"But I'm not!" Harry said letting some of his pent up frustration out.

"I know. She feels bad about getting frustrated at you, it's just hard for her to accept that you're that much better."

"I shouldn't have challenged Krum." Harry said, with a sigh.

"Yeah, that was dumb." Daphne said, and Emma gave her a reproachful look.

"What, it's true." Daphne said when she saw her face. She looked at Harry again, and said "Look, you should have realized what was going to happen, but instead you went full Gryffindor and decided to take on Krum to knock him down a peg. That's what you get."

Harry sighed again, "Yeah, you're probably right."

"Well don't let it beat you up," Daphne said, "It's over. Wait for her to apologize, stop moping about, focus on what's important, and get over it."

Harry nodded. That was the exact response he needed to hear from Daphne. Even though Emma was looking on with a bemused expression due to Daphne's blunt response, it didn't make it any less true.

"Look, Harry" Emma said, placing a hand on Daphne's leg to stop her from continuing "Fleur iz a very proud person, not unlike yourself." She paused, before continuing in French. "She is not used to losing. She is the very best student at Beauxbatons for a reason. Give her time to apologize, and I'm sure it will be fine." She said, smiling at him.

Harry nodded, before Daphne chimed in. "Well, whatever she said looks like it helped, but unless we want to be late to Potion, we need to leave now." Daphne said, standing up, and grabbing her book bag.

The three students walked down towards the dungeon. When they arrived, the classroom was already somewhat full, and while this was another joint class with the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, it was not the place to inter-house unity. Daphne went to the Slytherin part of the classroom with Emma, leaving Harry to sit alone at his usual table, as the only Gryffindor.

There was significantly fewer students in Snape's NEWT level course compared to DADA, and while there were a few Durmstrang students, there was not nearly as many international students as there were in Remus's class.

Harry was used to working alone in Potions. Although there was much more teamwork oriented potion-making in lower level courses, there were few times when Snape allowed students to work together at NEWT level with such high expectations for each student. It was important for students to be stand-alone potion makers. It suited Harry fine, who had received nothing by O's in Potions, so it was surprising for Harry when Fleur came to sit next to him at his usually empty table.

They made eye contact for a moment, but they both turned as Snape addressed the class.

"Welcome back to our final semester together." He drawled. "I had not planned on having joint classes, but the Headmaster believes that we must strive for a better cooperation between the schools."

Snape did not seem pleased with the arrangement, but continued, "Yet, there is nothing to be done with it. And for our Durmstang and Beauxbatons students, do not expect me to take it easy on you. Advanced Potions is not a place for fun and games."

"So, today you will work in pairs on a particularly difficult potion that only exceptional NEWT students should be able to produce: The Wiggenweld Potion."

"Mr. Potter, can you tell us what the Wiggenweld Potion should be able to achieve if brewed properly?'

"The Wiggenweld Potion is a type of healing potion, when – brewed properly – should be powerful enough to awaken person from a magically-induced sleep."

"Indeed, and can you provide an example of when the Wiggenweld Potion might be utilized, and why it is so critically important?"

"It is the only known potion that has the ability to reverse the effects of the Draught of Living Death."

"Exactly. Now." he waved his wand, and the instructions appeared on the previously blank chalkboard, "Here are the instructions, I will be walking around shortly to assess your progress."

Fleur gave him a look of surprise at Snape's teaching method, and they both walked up to pick up their ingredients.

Before long, every group had their potion well underway. This was 7th year NEWTs after all.

Fleur and Harry worked in relative silence except for acknowledging the timing of adding in salamander blood.

"I am sorry." Fleur said quietly after a break in the brewing process.

Harry looked up at her after he had successfully procured the fifth lionfish spine. "You don't have to apologize, I should apologize. I didn't mean to-"

"I should not have gotten so frustrated at you after the duel, it wasn't fair."

"It's okay-" Harry said, but she cut him off again.

"No, it's not." She said, looking down at the potion, and avoiding his gaze, "I am not accustomed to losing, and I let my pride get in the way. I didn't expect you to be that much better than me at dueling." Fleur said, still looking down at the potion which was still in its process of turning fully red.

"I've always been a bit of an outcast because for some reason I've always been more powerful than my peers – I'm not trying to brag, "Harry said quickly, not wanting to come across as arrogant, but Fleur seemed to be listening without judgement. "It's just because of extenuating circumstances I am an outlier. It's why I walk alone. I didn't want to just show you up in the duel, and come across as arrogant, but instead I didn't try as hard as I should have… and I came across as arrogant anyways. I'm sorry."

Fleur smiled slightly at him, finally meeting his gaze. "It's okay."

"Can you accept my apology?"

"Of course. Can you accept mine?" she asked.

"Of course." Harry said. "I wasn't upset at you, I was upset with myself."

"Me too." Fleur said, before giving him a somewhat mischievous look. "I'd be even more accepting of your apology if you added the lionfish spines before this potion sits for too long."

Harry smiled and added in the spines perfectly on time, and the potion began turning the ideal shade of yellow.

When they added in the second round of flobberworm mucus, Snape was making his way around the tables to check on the status of the various potions. When he reached their table, he took one look at the potion before saying, "Sufficient. I expected nothing less from our two champions."

He walked away as Harry, ignoring Snape's normal behavior, added in the honey water monitoring its change from yellow to turquoise before Fleur chimed in. "Sufficient? It's perfect." She said quietly with some frustration in her voice.

Harry chuckled before adding in the final two drops of berry juice. "That's his way of saying so. Sufficient being good enough for hospital use."

"I don't know how you dealt with that for seven years."

Harry shrugged. "It used to be so much worse. He despised my father, and used to take off points all the time for no valid reason. Yet, it just pushed me to be a better potions maker, and seven years later, we've made it to 'sufficient'."

Fleur shook her head at him. "You seem to have a backstory with everyone 'Arry."

Harry smiled as he stood. He brushed his hair back, and picked up his bag. They both walked out of the dungeon and made their way back up towards the ground level for lunch.

"Are you going to Hogsmeade with anyone this weekend?" Fleur asked as they climbed the stairs from the dungeon.

"No – I uh, I am actually leaving the school for the day... I have to meet with an old family friend." Harry said somewhat reluctantly.

"That's too bad. Emma, Alice and I were going to wander around and we wanted to know if you could join us." She said, looking a little disappointed.

Harry looked at her with an apologetic look. "I would have loved to join you, but unfortunately I must go to the meeting."

"That's alright. Next time." Fleur said smiling slightly.

"Is your family coming for the next task?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Fleur said, smiling more broadly at the thought. "Gabrielle is very excited to see you again."

"Well I'm looking forward to seeing her too." Harry said, leaning up against the edge of the entrance to the Great Hall.

"So, is this family friend code-word for another dangerous adventure?" Fleur asked, looking down at the ground and pushing some of her silver hair behind her ear.

"I don't believe so, but it is critical that the meeting goes well." Harry said, surveying her.

Fleur touched her silver necklace, "Well be careful. Please."

Harry had never noticed the necklace before, probably because he had always been so enamored with Fleur herself.

"That's a nice necklace. I hadn't noticed before." Harry said.

"Thank you, my grandmother gave it to me. I always wear it." Fleur said, looking down at it briefly. "So… you promise?" She said, looking back up at him.

"I will." Harry said, lifting his pinky.

Fleur looked at it with a questioning look. "What?"

"I promise. Picky swear." Harry said, indicating with his other pinky what was supposed to happen.

Fleur reached out tentatively, and, with a laugh grabbed his pinky with hers.

"I'll see you later, 'Arry." She said still smiling, as she turned to Ravenclaw table to join her fellow classmates.

.xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that evening after dinner Harry made his way to Remus' office, checking the map every so often. He was technically on duty for rounds, but with the map, it made life much easier. To his surprise he noticed that Sirius appeared in Remus' office.

He walked into the Defense office, and saw Sirius lounging in Remus' chair with his feet up on the desk while Remus was preparing for the next day's lectures.

"What do you think Harry?" Sirius asked smiling at him. "Think I can make it as a teacher? I bet I'd be great."

Harry rolled his eyes as he walked up to the desk. "You'd probably give preferential treatment to all the Gryffindor's. But would you really want to be stuck in this castle for year?"

Sirius pulled a face, "True, that and the position in cursed," Sirius said half-jokingly as Harry conjured a chair to sit in.

"Well, good thing Remus only signed a one year contract." Harry said. They had had this discussion before, and they made sure that the contract would annul any curse Voldemort had put on the position.

Remus turned, "Can you not put your feet on the table Sirius?" he asked.

"So, anything new kid?" Sirius asked, ignoring Remus.

"I had a meeting with Dumbledore." Harry said, placing the map on the table. Sirius grabbed it, and examined it with interest.

"Was it a discussion about more horcruxes?" Remus asked.

"Yes. Albus introduced two more horcruxes into the mix. Helga Hufflepuffs Cup, and the Ravenclaw Diadem."

"Really?" Sirius asked, abandoning the map. "Voldemort found the Diadem?"

"Yes, and he thinks that it's here in the school, he just doesn't know where." Harry said.

"Must be in the Room of Requirement." Remus said. "It was always unplotable, and probably a rare find for students, but if Voldemort had discovered it, that would be a good as place of any."

Harry nodded. "I'll have to find out."

"Did Dumbledore bring anything else up?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, he needs me to get a memory from Slughorn."

"Horace Slughorn?"

"Yeah. Voldemort had talked to him about multiple horcruxes, and it might give us an idea of how many more there are out there."

"I can help you get the memory." Sirius said, putting his feet back on the ground to suggest his willingness to get it immediately.

"No," Harry said. "This is something I will have to do on my own. I will retrieve it Saturday, during the next Hogsmeade visit."

Remus nodded. He, unlike Sirius had a bit more of an understanding of what Harry was building up towards.

"Besides, didn't you prank Slughorn on a multitude of occasions?" Harry asked.

"Well… maybe." Sirius admitted.

"Not exactly the sentiment I want to convey when I meet with him."

"So, how dearest Fleur feel after you dispatched her in the duel?" Sirius asked, changing the topic.

"She was not happy." Harry said, thinking back to yesterday, "But we both apologized this morning in Potions, so I think it's okay."

Sirius smirked. "You just _had_ to knock Krum down a notch?"

Harry smiled back. "Come on, of course I did."

"James would have done the same thing. But I think Lily would have then beat him."

"Think?" Remus said, jumping in. "For sure she would have won."

"Fleur is talented." Harry said.

"No doubt, but not against the boy-who-lived, future Voldemort equal." Sirius joked.

Harry rolled his eyes. "We're a long way away from that."

"Yes, but I learned my lesson after your fifth year. I swore I'd never 'for real' duel you again for a reason." Sirius said, holding his hands up.

"Maybe I shouldn't have set up the duels." Remus intoned.

"It's okay Remus, seriously." Harry said. "It's between Fleur and me."

"Well, I'm sure this discussion could go on all night, but tomorrow is Friday. I have meetings, Harry and you have classes, and we've got another piece of racist legislation coming up from the woodwork, so I'm going home." Sirius said, standing.

"Another one?" Harry asked.

"Yup, I'll make sure I get the details to you." Sirius said. "Maybe this time the collective efforts of the Potter and Black house can kill this one." Glancing at Remus, who had turned his back to the blackboard."

"Please do… Maybe it's time I pay another visit to the Wizengamot." Harry said, standing up as well.

Harry bid Sirius, and Remus a good night before making his way back to Gryffindor tower. The Second Task was still a couple weeks away, but he certainly had more pressing concerns.

After taking a shower, and reading for a few minutes, he finally put out the light next to his bed. As he turned over in the dark, with thoughts of a specific potions class running through his head, he thought to himself, _today wasn't so bad._


End file.
